Los Angeles Unified high school students have shown strong gains in Advanced Placement course enrollment, with a little more than half earned passing test scores last year that enable them to earn college credits at many universities, officials announced Tuesday.
In the 2024-25 school year, nearly 60,000 LAUSD students enrolled in an AP class, which is a rigorous, standardized, college-level course. Over a five-year period beginning in the 2020-21 school year, the district’s AP class participation grew by 50%.
When looking strictly at its percentage of enrollment growth, the Los Angeles Unified School District represents the highest annual participation rate of improvement of any district in the nation, College Board Chief Executive David Coleman said during the press conference.
“AP has been defined by exclusivity and for too many students,” Coleman said. “LAUSD is showing something different … available to all who demonstrate readiness and seek the challenge and risk is why it matters.”
The College Board is a nationwide not-for-profit organization that develops and proctors the SAT standardized test for college admissions and develops curriculum and tests for 42 AP classes, including biology, chemistry, calculus, English literature and several foreign languages.
More than 31,000 LAUSD students — approximately 51% — achieved a score of 3 to 5, which means they are eligible to earn college credits in accordance with university policies, according to College Board data. However, broader data reveal the district scores lag far behind behind state numbers, which show 71% of AP exam takers passing.
Supt. Alberto Carvalho focused on how much the district scores improved: the 51% pass rate in 2024-25, a 15% improvement over the previous year, and growing participation.
“We have endured both fire and ICE in our community, devastating fires, immigration raids that have created fear, trauma in our families and students and workforce,” Carvalho said. “This is the time for us to declare that, notwithstanding these challenges, we soar.”
Flanked by principals and administrators from across the district, Carvalho touted “an unprecedented” rise in access to AP testing, with some schools in the district offering free or fee-reduced options for students whose families can’t afford the $99 fee per exam.
“Other school systems and individual schools say ‘[AP] is extracurricular, that’s not our job,’” LAUSD board member Nick Melvoin said. “As we make the AP exams free, as we extend access, we’ve seen that a district like ours can ensure that for kids who live in poverty, that initial start is not their destiny.”
All student subgroups— including children of immigrants, racial minorities and those with parents without higher education — increased their passing rate in the last five years. Students with disabilities experienced the most significant increases in participation, which Carvalho attributed to better accommodations and preparation for test-taking.
Black and Latino students— who made up 73% of total AP test-takers in LAUSD last year — had a 37% and 17% rise in passing scores, respectively, according to College Board data.
Nearly all of the seven broad AP subject areas, including English, mathematics and sciences, posted gains in qualifying scores. Two areas of study showed a slight decrease: AP Arts and Research, with a 2% and 4% dip, respectively.
“When the state assessments came out, we proclaimed that the floor of performance dramatically improved, increased,” Carvalho said. “Today, we’re saying that the ceiling of performance also expanded.”
