According to the latest data from The College Board, for the Class of 2013, the average score on AP examinations for African American students was 2.03. On the AP scoring system of 5 to 1, a score of 2 is equivalent to a grade of D in a college-level course. For White students the average score on all AP tests was 3.03, roughly equivalent to a letter grade of C.
But there is a wide disparity in success levels for African American students on AP examinations. Of the 34 AP examinations offered in 2013, African Americans scored the highest on several foreign language tests. The highest average score for Black students was on AP test on German language and culture. The average African American score on this test was 3.17. This was only slightly below the average White student score on the German test.
The second highest average score for Black students was on the Spanish literature and culture test. On this test the average Black score was 3.01. For Whites the average score on this test was 3.59.
There were also small racial gaps in AP test scores in other foreign languages such as French, Japanese, Italian, and Latin.
The lowest average AP score for Black students was on the environmental science test. The average Black score was 1.79. Blacks also posted low average scores on AP tests in chemistry, U.S. government and politics, human geography, statistics and world history.
