Broadened access to Advanced Placement classes among all students, along with strengthened support for both students and teachers, has resulted in significant gains in AP course participation and exam performance across all student groups in Durham Public Schools for the 2024-25 school year.
Laura Parrott, Director of Advanced Academics, attributes this success to intentional efforts to make AP courses available to all students who are interested.
“We talk a lot about unlocking potential for all students,” Parrott said. “One of the biggest things we’ve been working on in our AP classes is helping refocus the narrative so that students and families know that AP is for all. The perception is that AP is an elite group, and it’s not… It’s for anyone.”
INCREASING ACCESS AND PERFORMANCE
Here are some highlights of the success that more students are experiencing with AP courses across DPS:
2,284 students took at least one AP course in the 2024-25 school year, a 2.7 percent increase from the previous year.
4,518 AP exams were taken in the 2024-25 school year, a five-year high.
69.5 percent of exams had a score of 3 or higher. A 3, 4, or 5 is a “qualifying score,” potentially leading to college credit for that subject. The number of qualifying scores increased nearly 15 percent over the 2023-24 school year.
There were three-year increases in participation across subgroups – 56.29 percentage points for Black students, 38.41 for Hispanic students, and 16.55 for white students.
There were also three-year increases in AP exam performance across subgroups – 73.85 percentage points for Black students, 65.71 for Hispanic students, and 28.6 for white students.
BENEFITS FOR COLLEGE AND BEYOND
AP courses have long been available in core subject areas such as English, math, social studies, and the sciences. But as part of its focus on expanding access to advanced coursework, the district has recently added AP Music Theory, AP Art and Design, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Seminar and Research, AP African American Studies, and AP Pre-Calculus. There are plans to add AP Cybersecurity as early as the 2026-27 school year.
The more AP courses that students take, the more qualifying scores they have the option to earn on the exams, and the more college credit they may earn while still in high school. Earning college credit through AP coursework could help some students graduate college as much as a year early. One less year of college could add up to considerable savings on tuition and on interest for student loans.
“When we are able to offer quality AP courses in which students are successful, then the opportunity these students have when they go off to college and have college credit is huge,” said Parrott, who’s quick to add that the benefits of AP courses aren’t just about cost savings.
"We’ve talked to students who are now in college, and they tell us things like, ‘It’s not just about the content knowledge, but I learned how to manage my time, improve my study skills, and write in a way that really conveys my thoughts,’” she said.
SUPPORTING TEACHERS TO SUPPORT STUDENTS
In order to recruit more students to AP courses, Parrott said that the district has taken a holistic approach and worked closely with teachers, school staff, and administrators.
“We’ve gotten rid of many of the barriers that students may have faced in the past,” she said. “It used to be that AP teachers did all the recruitment, but we have pushed past that. How does the baseball coach look at the potential in his students? Or the media specialist? We have the whole school community fostering opportunities for these students.”
Changing mindsets and equipping teachers and staff to identify students they might have previously misidentified is essential, Parrott said.
Strategies for this include sending teachers to professional development activities across the state and district; providing detailed instructional reports for teachers so they can pinpoint areas where their students might need extra help; and providing access to AP Classroom, an online platform that allows teachers to provide content and create short quizzes to supplement their classroom learning.
Dr. Gloria Woods-Weeks is the principal of Riverside High School, which was recognized by the College Board as a “gold-level” AP Honor Roll School for increasing AP participation and performance.
In addition to offering more professional development for teachers, Woods-Weeks said that there has been a focus on encouraging more students to take AP courses. The school hosts AP Potential Nights, where students and their families are invited to discuss the opportunities around taking AP courses.
Riverside also offers prep sessions, in-school tutoring, mentoring, and study groups for AP students and those considering the program.
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