Blair Advanced Placement exam scores remain high

Blair students took more Advanced Placement (AP) exams in 2003 and continued to score well on them.

According to guidance counselor Alan Campbell, Blair's AP coordinator, 91% of exams taken by Blair students were scored as 3 or above. Last year, 92% of Blair students' exams had scores of 3 or above. In comparison, last year 68% of exams taken by students in Maryland had scores of 3 or above.

The College Board administers AP exams every May and grades the exams on a 5-point scale. A 3, according to the College Board, means that the student is qualified to receive college credit for the course or be placed in an advancement placement college course for the subject.

Campbell was delighted by Blair's scores despite the drop in the percentage of students' scores that were 3 or above. Campbell said he was "very pleased with how the school has continued to score above 3's."
Campbell was also happy to see the number of test takers and tests administered rise. 509 Blair students took AP exams this year, while 488 students took AP exams in 2002. The number of tests administered, meanwhile, increased 11%, rising from 1145 in 2002 to 1274 in 2003.

While almost every category of AP exam saw enlarged administration, Campbell said, some exams saw "significant increases." The Calculus AB exam, for example, was not taken by any Blair students in 2002, but was taken by 23 students in 2003. The Calculus BC exam saw administration climb from 108 exams in 2002 to 123 in 2003.

The increased number of AP exams bodes well for Blair, according to Campbell. He said that the "[AP] program is growing," and that Blair has "lots of students with college credits granted because of AP scores."

Score breakdowns for Blair according to racial group or magnet/CAP/on-level groups were not available.