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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 060-09
February 5, 2009

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND CHANCELLOR KLEIN APPLAUD NEW YORK CITY'S STUDENTS ON THEIR GAINS ON ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS

Greatest Gains in Participation Made by Black and Hispanic Students

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today congratulated New York City public school students who took and passed an Advanced Placement (AP) exam in 2008. The number of New York City public school students who took an AP exam rose 5.6 percent last year, and the number of students who earned a passing score of 3 or higher on an AP exam rose 4.3 percent. Since the State Legislature approved mayoral control of the school system in 2002, the number of AP test takers has risen 39.2 percent, and the number of students passing an AP exam has risen 31.6 percent.

"One of the key goals of our education reforms is to raise the level of achievement for all students, and the AP scores released by the College Board earlier this week show that we are succeeding at that," said Mayor Bloomberg. "This is another indicator that our reforms are working and we are narrowing the achievement gap and raising student performance. Today, more New York City students are challenging themselves to do advanced level work, and more of them are earning college credit in our high school classrooms, including a greater number of black and Hispanic students."

"These results are further proof that our students will rise to meet high expectations," said Chancellor Klein. "Tackling college-level work can spark new interests and create new options for students after they graduate. Our schools are helping to create these opportunities for more and more students."

Last year, 23,618 New York City students took an AP exam, compared to 16,971 in 2002. The greatest increases in participation came among black and Hispanic students. Among Hispanic students, 5,616 took an AP exam, compared to 3,532 in 2002, while among black students, 3,825 took an AP exam, compared to 2,422 in 2002. More students also earned a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam last year.

Last year, 12,651 students passed an AP exam, up from 9,613 in 2002. Among black students, 1,020 passed an AP exam in 2008, up from 945 in 2007 and 715 in 2002. Among Hispanic students, 2,657 passed an AP exam in 2008, up from 2,516 in 2007 and 2,141 in 2002.







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