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Initiative raises AP results

The number of North Dakota students who took Advanced Placement classes in math, science and English and earned qualifying scores increased by 36 percent this past school year — the highest percentage increase in the country.

Fargo North High School saw a 91 percent increase in the number of students who obtained a score of three or higher on the exams. Principal Andy Dahlen said his school typically has about 60 to 80 qualifying scores, but this past fall that number jumped to 155.

The rise in AP scores is due to a partnership between the state and the National Math and Science Initiative, State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said Thursday at the 2017 Fall Educators Conference in Bismarck.

NMSI, a Dallas nonprofit, aims to boost the number of students who take AP exams by hosting programs in schools across the country with low AP exam rates, including in North Dakota. The NMSI partnership in the state began two years ago with a $13 million investment from an ExxonMobil subsidiary, XTO Energy.


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