LAUSD's AP enrollment, scores improve

Los Angeles Unified high school students have shown strong gains in Advanced Placement enrollment, with a little more than half earning passing test scores last year that enable them to earn college credits at many universities, officials announced this week.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCHANAN

CHRISTINA HOUSE Los Angeles Times DAVID COLEMAN, CEO of the College Board, which administers AP exams, lauded L.A. Unified's gains.

In the 2024-25 school year, nearly 60,000 LAUSD students enrolled in an AP class, which is a rigorous, standardized, college-level course.

Over a five-year period beginning in the 2020-21 school year, the district's AP class participation grew by 50%.

When looking strictly at its percentage of enrollment growth, the Los Angeles Unified School District represents the highest annual participation rate of improvement of any district in the nation, College Board Chief Executive David Coleman said during a Tuesday news conference.

"AP has been defined by exclusivity," Coleman said.

"... LAUSD is showing something different. [That the courses are] available to all who demonstrate readiness and seek the challenge and risk is why it matters."