Utah's high school seniors ranked third in the nation for their performance on Advanced Placement Exams this year, but the state's minority students continue to lag.

Utah's scores, released Tuesday by the College Board, show 65.5 percent of AP test takers — or 20.8 percent of all graduating seniors — scored a 3 or better on an AP test. That put Utah third, behind New York and Maryland, for AP scores, which use a five-point scale with scores above a 3 qualifying for college credit.

Of 30,439 public high school students in the state, a total of 30.6 percent took an AP Exam last year, landing Utah among the top 10 states in the nation for participation.

Nationally, about 24 percent of graduating seniors took an AP course with 15 percent scoring a 3 or better.

"We love to see more of our high school students challenging themselves by taking advanced courses," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington. "We also love to see them doing so well on these tests. The results speak well of Utah's schools."

Still, some higher education leaders are hesitant to celebrate just yet. Minority participation in AP courses is still out of whack with the number of eligible low-income and minority students who could be enrolled in the college-level courses.

Hispanic students, for example, make up about 8 percent of Utah's graduating senior class but account for only about 5 percent of students taking an AP class. That's roughly the same gap as reported in 2000. The picture is the same for black and American Indian students in Utah.

Fees to take AP Exams could be one obstacle for low-income and minority students and should be addressed by Utah education leaders through federal waivers or grants, said David Doty, assistant commissioner for higher education in Utah.

"I don't think we should ever have a situation where a kid is precluded from taking a rigorous college level class in high school because of income," he said.

Doty added he's also concerned that Utah's third-place rank will be taken as proof that Utah high schoolers are well-prepared for college. Students who are enrolled in AP courses are already self-elected, Doty said, and a majority of students in Utah still are not in AP courses and not taking a rigorous high school curriculum.

"I don't want to take anything away from the positive here. It's great that we're ranked third in the nation, but by and large, kids who are taking AP Exams are your real cream of the crop," he said. "That's evidence that you've got way fewer low-income kids taking these tests and you've got miniscule numbers of black and Hispanic kids taking these tests."

Doty and a K-16 alliance merging the goals of public and higher education in Utah are trying to overcome the minority gap with a push for a more rigorous high school curriculum, regardless of participation in AP classes. While those classes are good, Doty said, there is a large middle ground of students who don't think they can compete in AP courses, but still want to prepare for college.

The Utah State Scholars Initiative, for example, grants scholarship money to students who graduate with a "rigorous core curriculum" that includes four years of English, four years of math, three years of science, 3 1/2 years of social studies and two years of language.

"Most kids don't take AP courses and exams until their senior year. We're hoping that as more kids fill the pipeline leading up to their senior year with a solid academic core, they'll be much more prepared to pass the exams when the time comes," Doty said.

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