North Carolina’s focus on Advanced Placement (AP) programs has led to record participation and exam totals. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, more than 90,000 students took over 171,000 AP exams in the 2024-25 school year, marking a 7.3% increase in participants and a 9.8% rise in total exams from the previous year.
Among these students, 72.1% scored between 3 and 5, qualifying for potential college credit. This marks an increase from 65.4% in the previous year, compared with a national rise from 65% to 70.1% over the same period. "This is what it means to achieve educational excellence for all students," said North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green in a press release. The results also show improvements across racial and ethnic groups, genders, and regions throughout the state.
The Southeast region saw a 10.8% increase in AP test takers, while the West recorded the largest growth in exams taken with a 17.5% rise. The Northeast experienced a 28% increase in high-scoring exams, representing the highest year-over-year growth in scores of 3 to 5.
These educational gains are linked to the NC AP Partnership, which focuses on improving AP course outcomes, particularly in lower-performing districts. Established under legislation GS 115C-174.26, the four-person team works with the College Board to provide professional development for teachers and financial support for AP exams. In the most recent school year, exam and fee costs totaled more than $17.6 million. "Eliminating that concern has opened the door for thousands more students from all different backgrounds to reach their full potential," Sneha Shah-Coltrane, NCDPI’s senior director of advanced learning and gifted education, stated in a press release.
