The number of Florida students taking the AP Physics 1 exam this past May continued last year’s decline by dropping 5% from 2016, giving a total 10% decline since the exam debuted in May of 2015, according to state AP exam results just released by the College Board.
The passing rate for Florida students on the AP Physics 1 exam edged up to 37% from 35% in 2016 so that the number of Florida students passing remained nearly constant from 2016.
Florida’s AP Physics 1 decline reflects a broader decline in the state’s high school physics enrollments and does not reflect a national decline. Nationwide, the number of students taking the AP Physics 1 exam remained nearly constant, while the passing rate edged up to 41%.
Meanwhile, AP Biology continued its strong growth in Florida. The number of exam takers in the state rose by 4% this year, while the number passing the exam rose by a strong 11%. Since 2012, the number of Florida students taking the exam has risen by 40%, while the number passing has increased 113%.
The AP Calculus AB and BC exams continued their steady growth in Florida, while AP Computer Science A declined sharply – probably due to the new AP Computer Science Principles course that debuted last year. More than twice as many Florida students took the AP Computer Science Principles exam (4,829) as took the more challenging AP Computer Science A test (2,404). This was in contrast to the situation at the national level, where more students took AP Computer Science A than AP Computer Science Principles.
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