AP scores climb 24.5 percentage points since 2021
BATON ROUGE, La. — New national Advanced Placement (AP) data released by the College Board shows Louisiana high school students are making significant progress. The share of AP exams where students have earned a score that qualifies for college credit has increased by 24.5 percentage points since 2021, representing nearly two-thirds growth in four years.
From 2024 to 2025, the percentage of exams with a qualifying score increased by 11.2%. AP courses offer students the opportunity to earn college credit by taking rigorous courses in high school. Students who score a 3 or better on their AP exam are eligible to earn college credit.
“Louisiana students continue to prove they are just as capable as any in the nation,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “As we work to reimagine the high school experience, opportunities to earn postsecondary credit play a critical role in ensuring students graduate with the skills to thrive in a career, college, or service.”
Because students can take more than one AP exam, results are reported both by the number of students earning at least one qualifying score and by the total number of qualifying exam scores statewide.
Louisiana’s 2025 Advanced Placement Highlights
- Sustained progress: Nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of AP exams taken by Louisiana students earned qualifying scores in 2025, compared to 51.5% in 2024 and 38.2% in 2021.
- More students qualify for college credit: In 2025, 12,459 Louisiana students scored 3 or higher on at least one AP exam, up from 10,570 in 2024 and 7,100 in 2021. That’s a 77% increase since 2021.
- Students achieving more: Louisiana students earned 19,655 qualifying AP scores across all their exams in 2025, a 20% increase from 2024 (16,383) and an 80% increase since 2021 (10,889).
- Strong participation: Louisiana students took 31,342 AP exams in 2025, compared to 28,443 in 2021. While overall participation dipped slightly from 2024 (31,805), students produced 20% more qualifying scores in 2025.
The College Board released AP data at the national and state levels. The Louisiana Department of Education will release school system and school AP data later this year.
About Advanced Placement
The Advanced Placement (AP) Program, administered by the College Board, gives high school students the opportunity to take college-level courses and exams before graduation. AP courses are offered in subjects including mathematics, science, English, social studies, world languages, and the arts.
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