Long Island sees 8.5% increase on teens passing Advanced Placement tests

Long Island continues to expand its college-level Advanced Placement studies in high schools, but the state as a whole dropped a notch in the nation's AP rankings, officials announced Thursday.

Students in Nassau and Suffolk counties took a total of 78,135 Advanced Placement tests, according to the state's latest annual figures — up 6.3 percent from results two years earlier. The latest numbers are for the spring of 2018, and were provided last week by the state Education Department at Newsday's request.

During the same time period, the number of AP tests passed with scores of 3 or better rose to 53,857 on the Island — a gain of 8.5 percent. Such tests are scored on a scale or 1 to 5, with the higher numbers representing better performance.

In addition, more than 6,000 exams were provided in the region by International Baccalaureate, another program sponsoring college-level coursework. More than 95 school districts on the Island offer AP courses and tests, while 10 sponsor IB programs.

Growth in college-level studies ranging from calculus and chemistry to literature and music theory have been recorded on the Island since 2009, the earliest year for which state AP data are available. Such programs have proved highly popular with students and their parents, who find the work gives them a leg up on college, as well as with many teachers who welcome the intellectual challenge.

Fees for each exam are about $90, with $32 reductions available for eligible students. 

"I love it — the kids this year are amazing!" said Alexandra Heisig, who teaches AP calculus at Roosevelt High School.

Heisig, like other Roosevelt staffers, has seen steady increases in advanced course enrollments over the past several years. School officials said about half of this year's 274 ninth-graders are taking pre-AP courses designed to prep them for advanced work, while 140 students are taking AP courses. 

The Roosevelt district was one of two systems on the Island named in December to an AP "honor roll" maintained by program sponsors at the Manhattan-based College Board. Plainedge was the other district recognized for its success in building AP participation.  

New York State also has gained ground recently in percentages of public-school graduates passing AP exams. However, New York faces stiffening competition from other states that place a particular priority on improved AP performance.

On Thursday, College Board officials released a list of the nation's top 10 states, showing that New York slipped a notch. New York ranked eighth in terms of the percentage of students in the Class of 2019 who passed an AP exam — down from seventh place in 2018.

New York has bounced between seventh and eighth place over the past six years. The state held the top spot in the College Board's rankings as recently as 2006, but has generally dropped since then. Latest results show New York behind rivals such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida and California, and only slightly ahead of Virginia and Illinois. Massachusetts, which is home to a nonprofit organization that promotes AP expansion, has held the No. 1 spot four years running. 

"When states prioritize increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework, students succeed," said Trevor Packer, head of the College Board's AP programs. 

Packer joined other agency leaders in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday. 

In Albany, education officials said the state is seeking to boost participation further by committing $2 million to help students with very limited access to advanced courses. One potential approach is greater use of online instruction. 

Later this year, the state education department also plans to begin publicly reporting AP participation and performance to "better identify where opportunity gaps exist," agency officials said. Currently, the department provides AP data to the media upon request, but does not regularly report results of such testing by district. 

In recent years, a growing number of individual districts have sought to increase participation by requiring students who sign up for AP courses to also commit themselves to taking the final exams. 

"Over the last four years, we have made a major push," said Robert Amster, principal of Plainedge High School, who has hung an "AP District Honor Roll" banner in his office. "I think it keeps everyone in a class focused on the outcome." 

The International Baccalaureate program, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, also continues to expand on the Island. The 11th district in this region to become involved is Center Moriches, which has spent three years pursuing IB's rigorous application process. 

Ron Masera, Center Moriches' superintendent, said he expects the international curriculum to be authorized for the district's middle school and high school this year. On Thursday night, local parents have been invited to a high school orientation program focused on students' instructional options, including International Baccalaureate instruction. 

"It's an exciting time for us," said Masera, adding that he liked the idea of an instructional program used worldwide. "We're living in a world that is shrinking."

By John Hildebrand

john.hildebrand@newsday.com,michael.ebert@newsday.com@johnhnewsday,

John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.