Are AP scores published by school?

[Anonymous]

I just read on another thread someone's opinion that no private school can compete with Langley High school's AP classes. That may be true in terms of how many courses they offer. But it seems to me the only way to compare how the course is taught at different schools might be to compare the scores kids are receiving at different schools. That might give some sense of how well the classes are taught and how hard the students are working. Does anyone know if this info is published?

[Anonymous]

I agree with OP that the best way to measure success in AP classes is to look at the percentages of students who take AP tests that receive 5s, 4s, 3s, etc. The total percentage of students who take AP tests -- part of the Washington Post challenge index - is not as relevant for this purpose as privates can also have a wide range of students. I have seen some privates provide this info in their admissions offices to prospective applicants, but my impression is that most do not do so. You also need to compare them for specific classes -- apples to apples. I think only about 5% or so nationally scored 5 on this past year's AP bio exam -- lower than previous years and most (or all) other AP tests. All that said, some privates may argue that their classes are more rigorous than AP classes because they do not teach to the test -- they may cover different topics, fewer topics more deeply, etc. Nevertheless, I think OP has a point that these comparisons are porbably the best available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I agree with OP that the best way to measure success in AP classes is to look at the percentages of students who take AP tests that receive 5s, 4s, 3s, etc. The total percentage of students who take AP tests -- part of the Washington Post challenge index - is not as relevant for this purpose as privates can also have a wide range of students. I have seen some privates provide this info in their admissions offices to prospective applicants, but my impression is that most do not do so. You also need to compare them for specific classes -- apples to apples. I think only about 5% or so nationally scored 5 on this past year's AP bio exam -- lower than previous years and most (or all) other AP tests. All that said, some privates may argue that their classes are more rigorous than AP classes because they do not teach to the test -- they may cover different topics, fewer topics more deeply, etc. Nevertheless, I think OP has a point that these comparisons are porbably the best available.

True. At DD's private they teach their own curriculum in addition to the AP content in many AP classes. It would be hard to measure that against other schools. The College Board does report the numbers to each high school, but not many schools make those results public.