SR0994 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0994 LRB098 20525 NHT 56609 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Advanced Placement (AP) exams measure a student's content mastery of college-level studies in specific academic disciplines; and

WHEREAS, A total of 43,835 graduates took at least one AP exam during high school in 2013, more than double the 20,968 students who took the test in 2003; and

WHEREAS, Low-income students comprised 29.3% of graduates who took AP exams in 2013, compared to only 19% in 2008 and 12.1% in 2003; and

WHEREAS, The number of low-income graduates scoring a 3 or higher nearly tripled in the last 5 years, from 1,969 or 9.7% in 2008 to 5,758 or 19.8% in 2013; and

WHEREAS, This State was able to remove the equity gap for Latino participation in AP exams in 2013; and

WHEREAS, There has been tremendous improvement in AP exam success over the past decade for traditionally underrepresented groups in this State, but there remain significant gaps in student access and success; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the General Assembly to accelerate these improved outcomes for low-income, Latino, and African-American students by increasing this State's commitment to student access and success on Advanced Placement exams.