More high school students in Fairfax County took and passed college-level Advanced Placement exams in 2009 than in years past.
Nearly 15,000 students sat for nearly 30,000 grueling exams in the spring in subjects from computer science to European history, up from just over 14,000 students in 2008. About 55,000 high school students fill the county’s classrooms, but the tests are taken most widely among upperclassmen.
More than 70 percent of the tests earned a passing score of three or higher, out of a possible five. A passing score earns students credit at many colleges and universities. In 2008, about 65 percent of Fairfax students’ tests earned a three or higher.
The AP lineup has exploded in area high schools over the past decade as studies have revealed the quality of the coursework, and as school districts have used AP numbers to boost national rankings.
But while Fairfax’s AP results improved, the county’s pass rate on International Baccalaureate exams slid to 75 percent from 79 percent in 2008. International Baccalaureate, or IB programs, are offered in eight of the county’s 25 high schools, with a similar college-prep curriculum.
Fairfax Superintendent Jack Dale said the dip “is a result of scores leveling off after 2008, when our IB students performed particularly well.”
The county’s students took roughly the same number of tests as those in neighboring Montgomery County, and passed with similar percentages. But while Montgomery has focused heavily on streaming students into AP courses, especially black and Hispanic students, Fairfax’s growth has been more steady.
Between 2006 and 2009, the number of Fairfax’s black students who took at least one AP exam increased by about 25 percent, while the number of tests passed grew by 31 percent.
In Montgomery, black students taking the tests increased by 65 percent — outpacing the 59 percent increase in tests passed. Similar patterns held true in the counties for Hispanic students.
Robert Schaeffer, a director at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, said there’s little agreement over the best tack — faster growth and fewer passing scores, or slower growth and more passing scores.
“A number of studies, however, conclude that the strongest predictor of students’ college success is having taken the most rigorous courses at their high schools,” Schaeffer said. “Because AP classes tend to be more challenging, there’s probably a benefit to having taken them.”
Category; Fairfax County; Montgomery County
Students who took an AP test (2009); 14,835; 14,673
Number of tests taken (2009); 29,954; 28,575
Percentage of tests passed (2009); 71%; 72%
Growth in number of students who took a test (2006-2009); 18%; 26%
Growth in number of tests with passing score (2006-2009); 24%; 23%
