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District 196 reports high AP pass rates; ninth-grade AP World History cohort posts 81.75% pass rate
Summary
District presenters said about 5,500 AP exams were taken districtwide with an overall pass rate of 83%; for AP World History, the district's first ninth-grade cohort achieved an 81.75% pass rate compared with 75.8% statewide and 64.3% globally for the same exam form.
Dr. Todd Beach, district lead for social studies, told the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board that District 196 students posted strong Advanced Placement (AP) results this year and that the district's first cohort of ninth-graders taking AP World History recorded an 81.75% pass rate on their exam form.
Beach said the district offers 28 AP subjects and administered about 5,500 exams this year; across District 196 the overall AP pass rate was 83 percent. For AP World History (form 2), he said the global pass rate was 64.3 percent, Minnesota's pass rate was 75.8 percent and District 196 ninth-graders achieved 81.75 percent.
The district presented the results as part of an informational report on participation, course access and research on AP outcomes for college readiness. Beach noted research linking AP participation and passing AP exams with higher college completion and higher college GPAs. He described AP World History exam format and said the course emphasizes historical thinking, disciplinary literacy and reasoning skills.
Beach also explained the local scheduling change that made a ninth-grade AP World offering possible: a 2023 state law requiring civics instruction to be taught in either 11th or 12th grade prompted the district to move world-history content into ninth grade; the district offered AP World History to ninth-graders this past year as part of that re-sequencing.
Board members asked about teacher preparation and outreach to increase enrollment. Beach said many AP teachers in the district hold master's degrees and that the district created a one-page information sheet for schools to standardize communications about AP World. He and other board members discussed strategies to encourage underrepresented students to enroll, including school-level outreach and explicit invitations to students.
Board members praised the results and said they expect demand to grow. Beach said early indications are sections will expand in next year's registration cycle.
