Higher Ed Roundup: Week of February 2 – February 6

AP Passage Rate Rises, but Geographic and Racial Gaps Persist

More Americans Think College Necessary, But Harder to Obtain

Briefly Noted…

AP Passage Rate Rises, but Geographic and Racial Gaps Persist

The number of students passing at least one advanced placement (AP) exam continues to grow, but substantial racial and geographic gaps remain among test takers. According to data released this week by the College Board, which administers AP exams, 15.2 percent of the roughly 3 million test takers passed at least one of the subject tests, a success rate that is three percentage points higher than it was five years ago. But, this achievement growth is not evenly distributed geographically or racially. Nearly a 20 percentage point gap exists between the state with the highest passage rate (Maryland at 23.4 percent) and the lowest (Mississippi, 3.9 percent). Black students, meanwhile, were underrepresented test takers relative to their proportion of the student body as a whole. Black students made up over 14 percent of the class of 2008, but were only 7.8 percent of AP test takers, and just 3.5 percent of those who passed an exam. The underrepresentation of black students among successful test takers, also referred to as equity and excellence gaps, does not appear to be lessening. Not a single state eliminated such gaps for black students in 2008, compared to 18 that did so for Hispanic students.

More Americans Think College Necessary, But Harder to Obtain

More Americans think postsecondary education is necessary to attain a middle class lifestyle, yet an even larger percentage think getting access to one is a problem, according to a recent public opinion survey. “Squeeze Play 2009: The Public’s Views on College Costs Today,” released this week by the Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, found that 55 percent of people surveyed think a college education is a necessity for success in America. That is five percentage points higher than 2007, the last time the survey was conducted, and 24 percentage points higher than in 2000. At the same time, a smaller percentage of those surveyed think that qualified students have the opportunity to go to college. The 2008 survey found that only 29 percent of qualified students have access to postsecondary education, compared with 45 percent in 2000. Two-thirds of survey respondents felt that the lack of access is a problem–the highest level since the survey began in 1993. There was also growth in the percentage of people who think students borrow too much to pay for college, and who believe those who need financial help can get the assistance they need.

Briefly Noted…

• Former Senate staffer Carmel Martin, Education Trust Vice President Russlyn Ali, and Peter Cunningham, the founder and president of Cunningham Communications, named assistant secretaries at the Department of Education.
• California tries to make it easier for students to transfer from 2-year to 4-year institutions.