14.1% Of Public School Students Earned At Least A 3 On An AP Exam In 2005

In 2005, 14.1% of public school students in the United States earned at least a three on an advanced placement examination, the minimum score necessary to receive credit at most colleges. New York had the highest percentage of it's public school students earn at least a three on an A.P. exam, at 22.8%. Louisiana had the lowest percentage of it's public school students earn at least a three on an A.P. exam, at 2.5%.

Some schools set a higher bar when granting credit for advanced placement examinations.
Harvard requires a five, the highest possible score, for students to receive credit. The California Institute of Technology does not give credit for advanced placement examinations. This is because some have discovered that earning a high score on an advanced placement examination does not necessarily mean the student is ready for college level work:

Ronald M. Latanision, a material science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: "About two years ago, we decided we would no longer give AP credit in chemistry, because the previous year, a third of the freshman class placed out of chemistry, but when they went into upper-level courses, they were clearly not prepared. We don't discourage kids from taking AP courses, but we're not going to give credit."