St. Mary’s Students Set New Advanced Placement Milestones As Participation And College-Qualifying Scores Increase

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — More St. Mary’s County Public Schools students are taking Advanced Placement courses and earning college-qualifying exam scores than ever before, and district leaders report continued gains in both participation and performance during the 2025-26 school year.

The Board of Education received its annual Advanced Placement report Wednesday, showing students completed 2,968 AP exams this year — 175 more than last year. The district also recorded increases in the number of students earning scores of 3, 4 and 5, which many colleges recognize for course credit. Students earned 2,091 qualifying scores of 3 or higher this year, up from 1,947 the previous year.

College Board data presented to the board showed that 61.5% of the graduating Class of 2026 earned a score of 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during high school, up from 42.7% the previous year and 22.5% three years ago.

“Six out of 10 students that walked across the stage scored a three or better on an AP test while they attended St. Mary’s County Public Schools,” Superintendent Scott Smith said. “That is up from 22% back in 2022-23. That is an impressive increase.”

Advanced Placement courses are college-level classes offered in high school. Students who score a 3, 4 or 5 on an AP exam may earn college credit, depending on the policies of the college or university they attend. Colleen Gill, supervisor of instructional programs, said the courses also prepare students for the rigor of college-level academics, regardless of whether college credit was earned.

“The main reason you sit for an AP exam is to earn college credit,” Gill said. “That is not the main reason to take an AP course.”

The district administered nearly 3,000 AP exams this year, continuing a four-year upward trend in participation. Students earned 393 scores of 5, 832 scores of 4 and 866 scores of 3, all increases over the previous school year. Overall, 70% of AP exams earned a qualifying score of 3 or higher, while the average score increased from 3.1 to 3.2.

“175 additional tests taken, 30 more scores of five, 78 more scores of four, and 36 more scores of three,” Smith said.

Gill also highlighted several individual course achievements, including AP Physics C: Mechanics, where students achieved a 100% pass rate, outperforming both the Maryland average of 64.9% and the global average of 74.2%. Other top-performing courses included African American Studies, AP Research, AP Seminar, Human Geography, Spanish Language and Culture, Calculus BC and Chemistry, with several courses exceeding both state and global averages.

Blueprint Expands Access To AP Exams

District leaders also credited Maryland’s Blueprint for Education with covering Advanced Placement exam fees, saying the policy has helped expand student participation in AP testing. Since the district began paying exam costs, both the number of students taking AP exams and the number earning qualifying scores have increased.

“This has been a byproduct of the Blueprint and us covering costs, and so a lot of people said, ‘Well, if you just pay for it, they’re not going to really care. They’re not going to really work on it unless they’ve got skin in the game,’” Smith said. “Not only did we increase substantially by a third the number of kids taking it, but they are taking it seriously.”

Gill said the district plans to build on this year’s results by expanding enrollment in AP Research, sharing AP Potential recommendations with families before course registration, continuing a countywide AP information night, strengthening support for lower-performing AP courses, reviving peer mentoring through lunchtime study groups and encouraging more teachers to serve as College Board AP exam readers.

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