More Hawaii public school students taking (and passing) AP exams

(University of Hawaii)
Updated: Oct. 26, 2018 at 11:51 AM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - More Hawaii public school students are taking AP exams — and getting scores high enough to qualify for college credit.

The state Education Department said nearly 7,000 Hawaii public school students took AP exams last school year, up 6 percentage points from the previous year.

Those students took about 10,500 exams.

The number of passing scores also grew by about 9 percentage points — to 4,545.

For a number of years, the state Education Department has worked to bolster the number of students who take Advanced Placement courses and exams in order to earn college credit while they’re still in high school.

“This program supports our efforts to ensure college, career and community readiness for all of our students. These results are promising and demonstrate that not only are students being exposed to the rigor of college-level courses, but they are prepared to succeed at this high level,” said schools Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, in a news release.

“Our schools utilize student feedback to tailor their AP offerings and provide rigorous courses that are relevant and that students want to take.”

Other highlights from the 2017-18 school year:

  • 821 students qualified for the AP Scholar Award, granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more exams.
  • 16 students at 11 high schools qualified for the National AP Scholar Award, earning scores of 4 or higher on eight or more exams. 
  • 18 students were awarded the AP Capstone Diploma by earning scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research courses and on four additional AP exams. 

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