Note from Gaston

Dear Colleagues,

Today the College Board announces the results of The 6th Annual AP® Report to the Nation, which documents AP participation and achievement at the state and national levels. This special issue of Connection was created to share today’s news directly with our members and the many educators in the AP community.

More students than ever before are participating in rigorous course work and succeeding. Almost 16 percent of the public high school class of 2009 received at least one AP Exam score of 3 or higher. The positive trends documented in today’s report are encouraging, and I want to commend students for their hard work and success. Credit also goes to educators at all levels and policymakers whose diligence has ensured more students are able to take AP courses and do well on the exams.

When I became president of the College Board 10 years ago, one of my goals was to extend the great benefits of Advanced Placement® to more students and to address troubling participation and achievement gaps for traditionally underrepresented and low-income students. Since then, the number of students taking AP Exams and scoring a 3 or higher has more than doubled. And each year more schools, districts and states across the country are succeeding in opening up greater access to AP.

But there is still important work to be done for all AP classrooms to reflect the diversity of our schools. Two things make me especially hopeful about reaching this goal.

First, we have wonderful models for success, from the states commended in the report for closing the equity and excellence gap for Hispanic and American Indian students, to the 15 exemplary schools cited for having the largest numbers of African American and/or Latino students experiencing success in particular AP subjects.

Second, policymakers at the district, state and federal levels are increasingly focused on true education reform that holds college readiness as standard for all students. Initiatives that provide instruction as early as middle school are helping students build the skills and confidence necessary to take on college-level work in high school.

I hope that we, as a membership organization and as an extended community of AP teachers, administrators and college professors, can continue to work together to reach the nation’s long-term education goals. This is the time to build on our momentum and renew our focus, reaching out to every student along the way.