Today, the College Board released their AP Program Results: Class of 2019  report detailing the participation and performance of U.S. public high school graduates in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. South Carolina’s Class of 2019 saw growth in all three major areas of AP participation and performance including outpacing the nation on eight of the top ten most popular Advanced Placement tested subjects. 

"South Carolina students' continued success on Advance Placement is testament to the dedication of our AP teachers to deliver rigorous instruction and school counselors who identify student potential for success," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. "Our state policies, funding, and support have made us a national leader in Advanced Placement and I know that by continuing to be innovative we will expand on our success."

The Class of 2019's success on Advanced Placement includes:

• 34.6% (15,330) of South Carolina public high school graduates took at least one AP Exam - up from 34.4% (15,175) for the class of 2018.
• 20.3% (9,027) of South Carolina public school graduates scored 3 or higher on at least one AP exam - up from 19.9% (8,773) for the class of 2018.
• In South Carolina the Class of 2019 took 49,445 AP Exams during their high school experience – 1,760 more than the Class of 2018.
• 58.8% of AP Exams taken by the Class of 2019 in South Carolina scored 3 or higher - up from 56.7% for the Class of 2018.

AP exam scores of 3 indicate a candidate who is qualified to take college-level courses. Scores of 4 indicate someone who is well qualified and a 5 indicates someone who is extremely well qualified. Colleges and universities often grant class credit and use AP scores of three or more to place students in higher course levels.

In May 2019, South Carolina public and private high school students took a total of 34,324 AP Exams that resulted in scores of 3, 4, or 5. Based on students’ opportunity to earn at least 3 college credits for each AP Exam score of 3 or higher, this represents an estimated 102,972 college credits . At an average rate of $435.33 per credit hour, the total potential cost savings for the state’s students and families was $44,826,801 .

South Carolina students outperformed the national average in percentage of exams with scores of three or more on eight of the top ten most popular Advanced Placement tested subjects. 

Percentage of AP Exams with Scores of 3+

AP Exam	SC	US
World History	60%	54%
United States History	55%	50%
United States Government and Politics	64%	54%
Statistics	51%	58%
Psychology	62%	64%
Human Geography	52%	51%
English Literature and Composition	52%	51%
English Language and Composition	58%	55%
Calculus AB	58%	57%
Biology	66%	62%

AP Computer Science

Computer science is one of the fastest-growing fields in the world, and more students than ever are benefiting from AP computer science courses. Since its launch in 2016, AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) continues to engage more high school students in next-generation learning through an innovative, project-based approach to coursework.
 
In South Carolina , 1,003 students took the AP CSP exam in May 2019 (up from 630 in 2018). This was in addition to 345 students taking Computer Science Principles A.

District	School
Aiken County School District	Silver Bluff High School
Anderson Districts 1 & 2	Anderson Districts I & II Career and Technology Center
Bamberg 2 School District	Denmark-Olar High School
Charleston County School District	R B Stall High School
Charter Institute at Erskine	Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts and Sciences
Clover School District	Clover High School
Greenville County School District	Greenville High Academy
Greenville County School District	Greer High School
Lexington County School District 1	Pelion High School
Pickens County School District	Easley High School
Pickens County School District	Liberty High School
Richland County School District 2	Blythewood High School

Click here to access the national report.