44 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • FEBRUARY 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
More city students taking AP exams than ever before: Mayor
BY STEPHEN LEPORE
slepore@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
New York City students took part in
and passed advanced placement exams at
a record rate in 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced in Elmhurst on Tuesday.
A total of 55,011 young people took
an AP Exam in 2018, up 11.4 percent
from 49,364 in 2017. Th e number of students
that passed at least one exam in
2018 was up 10.7 percent. Every borough
saw an increase in students both taking
and succeeding at the exams, which are a
part of Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools
Chancellor Richard A. Carranza’s “AP For
All” initiative. All ethnic groups also saw
increases.
Th e chancellor and mayor made the
announcement Tuesday at Civic Leadership
Academy, which has tripled the number of
AP courses it off ers through the AP for All
initiative, alongside state Senator Jessica
Ramos and Councilman Daniel Dromm.
“For too long, the city wasn’t doing
its part to provide access to Advanced
Placement programs, sending a message to
students that they weren’t college material,”
said de Blasio. “We came into offi ce to
shake things up and remind all students of
their potential. Our AP for All programs
are moving mountains for students in
every neighborhood with a record number
of students testing and passing AP courses
and allowing more bright young minds to
earn college credit for their futures.”
“AP for All is working,” added Carranza.
“With our Equity and Excellence for
All agenda, we are raising expectations,
strengthening instruction, and creating a
college-going culture among both our students
and our educators, and we’re seeing
the impact not only in AP results but in
graduation and college enrollment rates. ”
Th e program seeks to increase participation
and performance at AP exams with
a particular focus on black and Hispanic
students, as part of the city’s “Equity and
Excellence for All” agenda. Th e city supported
new AP classes at 152 schools during the
2017-18 school year, with the initiative reaching
252 schools. Th e goal is for students at all
high schools in New York City to have access
to at least fi ve AP classes.
Progress has been shown since the program
began, with the number of students
taking AP exams rose 92.1 percent since
the initiative launched in 2016. Th e number
of students passing has gone up 64.9
percent. Th e diversity standards have also
raised: in 2018, 19.4 percent Hispanic and
7.1 percent more black students took at
least one AP exam than in 2017. Since 2013,
Hispanic participation has risen 58.7 percent
and black student participation is up
60 percent.
Photo courtesy of Mayor’s offi ce
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza visited the Civic Leadership Academy in Elmhurst on Feb. 26.
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