Expanding Access to Advanced Placement

Every student can learn when they are held to high expectations and receive rigorous instruction and support. In order to prepare students for life after high school, whether they go on to college or begin their careers, they must have access to a rigorous curriculum in the classroom that prepares them for the real world. One important pathway to reach this goal is access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

Research shows that taking just one AP course in high school can increase college success for students because of exposure to college-level curriculum. In fact, even students who do not earn a “qualifying score,” or at least a 3, on their end-of-course AP exams are more likely to succeed in and graduate from college. Plus, these courses help students save money in college through credit earned from AP tests. It is estimated that Alabama students have saved approximately $270.4 million in college tuition since 2009 by taking AP courses, and about $40-45 million annually in the last few years.

Access to these courses that hold students to high standards and increase rigor in the classroom must be available to all students in Alabama who wish to take them. It is critical to support the expansion of available courses through teacher training, test stipends for low-income students, and raising the rigor in earlier grades to prepare students for high school.