The number of public high school students earning college credits rose 12 percent over last year, the state Department of Education announced Thursday.  The increase is nearly 167 percent since 2012. The credit is called Advanced Placement (AP) and schools offer AP classes in several different subjects such as Literature, History and Psychology. Advanced Placement allows students to earn credits in 38 subjects. They do so by taking a rigorous class in high school and then a national exam. Scores from range from 1 to 5. A score of at least 3 means students can earn credit at any college in Louisiana and many nationwide. The state launched a push in 2011 to increase the number of students earning AP credit. Those who do so boost their chances for getting a state scholarship that pays for most college tuition, called the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students. Schools achieving high levels of AP courses and tests get a boost in annual rankings.

Louisiana has long ranked among the lowest in the nation for students who qualify and in 2017 it finished next to last with a total of 8.5 percent of high school students got AP credit. The national average was 22.8 percent. Massachusetts was the top ranker in the nation for the second consecutive year at 32.1 percent. A total of 7,330 students in Louisiana earned the credit this year compared to 6,519 last year. Among the school districts showing notable gains was West Feliciana, where students earning qualifying scores rose 15 percent over last year. Scores for black students rose nearly 13 percent, to 884 students, including 156 more in the East Baton Rouge Parish School District. Dutchtown High School in Ascension Parish led the state in one-year growth 328 students, up 69 percent and up 57 percent for the district. Students can also get  costs of the test reimbursed by the state.

Not only are these courses helping students earn college credits but they are also saving them money.  A report says students and families save $310 for each college credit earned in high school but once adding in the cost of books and other course-related fees, that amount could be significantly more.  Not to mention student loan interest that student won’t be paying later, essentially saving them from large amount of debt. Check out this site for more information on Advanced Placement courses.