The Sunflower State is tied for 48th in the nation for the percentage of students scoring a “3” or higher on advanced placement exams.
According to a new survey by CollegeBoard.com, only 10.7% of public high school students in Kansas and West Virginia scored a 3 or higher on the exams. Only Louisiana (10.1%), Oklahoma (10%), and Mississippi (8.5%) fared worse.
Massachusetts, with 32.8% topped the list, and New Jersey and New York were tied for second with 30.7%. Nationally, 22.6% of students scored a 3 or higher on AP exams.
Over the past 10 years, the percentage of all U.S. public high school graduates earning a score of 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam has grown by 2.7 percentage points.
However, Kansas has seen a slide of 1.7 percentage points and ranks dead last in the percentage of students taking AP exams since 2014.
According to the organization, research shows that even students who do not score highly on the tests benefit from AP classes.
CollegeBoard’s research shows AP students, including those with average scores of 1 or 2, are more likely to enroll in a 4-year college, compared to academically similar students who didn’t take AP in high school.
Additionally, students who earn AP scores of 2 are well prepared to succeed in introductory college coursework. Compared to academically similar college peers who didn’t take an AP course, AP students who earn scores of 2 perform as well or better when they take those introductory college courses. Not only that, but students who first score a 1 or 2 on an AP exam will take further AP courses and score higher.
Indeed, 35.7% of 2024 U.S. public high school graduates took at least 1 AP Exam during high school, and 22.6% of the graduating class scored a 3 or higher on at least 1 AP Exam.
Advanced placement outcomes reflected in declining college readiness
The Sunflower State’s low ranking on advanced placement scores coincides with a precipitous decline in college readiness on the ACT exam.
In 2015, 32% of Kansas graduates were college-ready in English, Reading, Math, and Science, but that measurement dropped to only 18% on the 2024 exam.
While the ACT and advanced placement scores provide an objective measure of educational outcomes, the Kansas State Department of Education is unwilling to acknowledge the student achievement crisis. Earlier this month, KSDE proposed new cut scores on the state assessment that would produce implausible proficient gains if the State Board of Education approves them next month.
As the Sentinel recently reported, the change would result in the percentage of 8th-grade reading proficiency more than doubling from last year, jumping from 22% 46%.
“The only plausible explanations for the miraculous turnaround are that the new test is easier, standards are lower, or some combination of the two,” Dave Trabert, CEO of the Kansas Policy Institute — which owns the Sentinel — wrote.” We don’t know if the new test is easier (the public isn’t allowed to see the questions), but KSDE did say the test has fewer questions. KSDE insists that the new cut scores that determine performance are just as rigorous as before, but that is hardly believable. The magical improvements seem akin to changing the grading scale for an “A” from 90-100 to 70-100.
“KSDE effectively told board members to be unburdened from what has been,” Trabert wrote.
KSDE told the board the huge gains resulted from “fixing a misaligned system, not reducing rigor.”
KSDE has claimed for years that proficiency levels were artificially low because some students who scored in Level 2 were really proficient and belonged in Level 3.
“In other words, cut scores on the last assessment were too rigorous,” Trabert wrote. “Now, results reflect what the standard-setters believe to be accurate, but don’t you dare say that KSDE reduced standards.”
