COLUMBIA — Data just released from the 2009 Advanced Placement exams show that students from Columbia Public Schools scored higher than state and national averages.
High school students can take Advanced Placement classes in several subjects, including psychology, world history and statistics, for college credit. They take the related exams in the spring after completing their coursework.
"We believe that AP classes bring an important level of rigor to the high school," said Jim Morris, spokesman for the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Most universities require a score of three or above to get college credit. Eighty-seven percent of the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders in the Columbia district who took the 2009 exam met these requirements. The highest average score was 4.38 in psychology; the lowest average score was 3.21 in U.S. History.