Advanced Placement Tests are administered to qualified students in English, History/Social Studies, Mathematics, Foreign Languages and Sciences to determine if they have completed the equivalent of the college's freshman course in that subject. Many colleges offer advanced placement, college credit or both to students who obtain satisfactory grades - typically to those students who score a 3 or higher on an AP exam. All YCSD students enrolled in AP courses are required to take the AP exam to receive course credit.
York County School Division students continue to improve their performance on AP exams. In fact, the number of AP exams on which seniors scored 3 or better increased 36 percent from 2004 to 2009. The number of ninth through eleventh grade students who scored a 3 or better rose 67 percent during the same time period.
Since 2004, the number of seniors participating in AP courses and testing in the York County School Division has increased by 6.4 percent. Division efforts to encourage students in grades 9-11 to take AP courses and tests have resulted in a 52 percent increase in participation.