More Iowa high school students are taking at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam, according to a report released today by the College Board, which administers the AP program.

The graduating Class of 2009 did well on the test and had more class members take the exam than previous classes. Approximately 66 percent of the Class of 2009 that took an AP exam during their high school career scored a 3 or higher. This is higher than the national average, which is 59 percent.  A score of 3 or above is considered to be college-level performance. AP exams are scored on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the highest possible score.

Of the 35,466 students of the 2009 class, 4,691 members or 13.2 percent took at least one AP exam during their four years in high school. This is higher than five years ago, when only 9.6 percent of the 2004 graduating class took at least one AP exam.

Advanced Placement is one option for Iowa students to potentially earn college credit while still in high school.