Of the 289 Massachusetts schools and school districts that reported their Advanced Placement (AP) test scores to the non-profit College Board, Lynn ranked 251st with a 32 percent pass rate and Lynnfield ranked 74th with a 72 percent pass rate.
Last week, the College Board released AP scores from school districts across the country. For the second consecutive year, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation for the percentage of students who passed their AP exams by receiving a score of three or higher.
In 2022, roughly 30 percent of students who took AP tests in Massachusetts passed them. Nationally, only 21 percent of students passed, according to the College Board.
Approximately 37 percent of Saugus AP students, 63 percent of Peabody AP students, 66 percent of Swampscott AP students, and 71 percent of Marblehead AP students passed their AP exams in the 2021-2022 school year.
On April 5, the State House presented both Lynn English and Lynn Classical High Schools with the AP Access Award for expanding their Black and Latino test-taker populations by more than 30 percent over the last five years.
In a written statement, Massachusetts Secretary of Education and former Lynn Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler referenced his work toward expanding student access to AP coursework.
“As the superintendent in Lynn, it was a priority of mine to ensure that more students were given the opportunity to succeed in these classes, especially those barred from advanced courses in the past,” Tutwiler said. “I look forward to continuing that work across Massachusetts and building on the achievement we’ve seen so far.”
For Lynn Public Schools, the 2021-2022 exam results show a return to the district’s pre-pandemic pass rate. In the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years, roughly 40 percent of those taking AP tests in Lynn high schools passed. Lynn’s percentage of passing students dropped to 23 percent in the 2020-2021 school year.
Designated Lynn Superintendent of Schools Dr. Evonne Alvarez said that she believed the dip in Lynn’s AP exam performance corresponded to the challenges of pandemic-era education.
“You can’t offer the entire Advanced Placement coursework while students are at home, ill, working on the computer, or not attending in-person classes,” Alvarez said. “We have a digital divide — you can have a laptop, but not have Wi-Fi.”
Alvarez said that over the summer, she hopes to continue the work of Tutwiler and Acting Superintendent of Schools Debra Ruggiero in expanding student access to AP courses.
This summer and fall, Alvarez said she wants to gather with high school teachers and principals to find ways to expand the number of AP courses available to Lynn students, and explore ways to implement AP coursework in schedules.
“We’re very proud of the work that we’ve done, and the expansion of the courses that has taken place, and we’ll continue to do that until students are able to access all of the courses that they wish to take,” Alvarez said.
