Massachusetts AP Exam Scores by School and Student Group Since 2007

Advanced Placement exam score data for Massachusetts public and charter schools from 2007 onward. The dataset includes counts of students receiving each score (1-5) and percentages scoring in low (1-2) and high (3-5) ranges, disaggregated by student demographic groups. Data is published by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in AP exam performance over time using the SY (school year) and SCORE_1 through SCORE_5 columns.
• Compare achievement gaps between student groups by cross-referencing STU_GRP with PCT_3_5 (percent scoring 3-5).
• Evaluate school-level AP participation and performance by aggregating TESTS_TAKEN and score columns for each ORG_NAME.
• Assess performance across academic subjects using the SUBJ and SUBJ_CAT columns alongside score distributions.
• Investigate district-level patterns by grouping data using DIST_CODE and DIST_NAME with performance metrics.

Strengths

• Data spans over 15 years, covering school years from 2007 onward.
• Includes granular breakdowns by student group (STU_GRP) and individual AP subjects (SUBJ).
• Provides both raw score counts (SCORE_1 to SCORE_5) and derived percentage metrics (PCT_1_2, PCT_3_5).

Limitations

• The specific row count and total number of student records are unknown.
• Changes in demographic reporting categories (e.g., 'Economically Disadvantaged' vs. 'Low Income') may complicate longitudinal analysis.
• Data is limited to Massachusetts public and charter schools, not representative of other states or private institutions.

Provenance

Source

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Collection Method

Collected from AP exam administrations in Massachusetts public and charter schools.

Time Range

2007 to present.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, indicating regular maintenance.

Geography

Massachusetts, United States.