Growing Failure Rates on AP Exams

More than 41 percent of students who took Advanced Placement tests last year failed to earn at least a 3 (on a scale of 1-5) that would be considered a passing grade, according to an analysis by USA Today. The high failure rates, according to the newspaper, raise questions about the strategy of the College Board and many states of encouraging greater use of the AP program, especially in schools where students may not receive adequate preparation. College Board officials maintain, however, that increasing failure rates are inevitable as more students take the exams, and that the overall failure rates are rising on some of the tests and falling on others.