Rigor and Access Can Go Together

At Orange High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, Jason Johnson- the 2026 National High School Principal of the Year – has a simple message for his students: you belong in challenging classes. 

Johnson’s effort to motivate more students into Advanced Placement courses is part of a statewide strategy to lift student achievement and get more young people prepared for the rigors of college and the working world. Over the last several years, North Carolina’s pioneering approach has become a model for pairing rigorous expectations with reliable support, motivating students from every region of the state to tackle college-level work. 

Last year saw the highest level of AP participation in state history, along with the highest rate of AP exam success, with gains shared across all student groups. More than 90,000 students across the state took an AP exam last year in everything from Precalculus to U.S. Government and Politics. Exam scores of 3 or higher, qualifying a student for college credit, grew by 21 percent. 

That counterintuitive achievement — bringing more students into college-level work while continuing to improve performance — has been driven by a unique, decade-long partnership between North Carolina educators and the AP Program.  

Under the North Carolina model, school and district leaders work directly with AP advisors to get more students into challenging classes. AP teachers attend summer institutes to learn from course design experts and connect with other educators. Principals and counselors get school-specific guidance on how to encourage students to take the most rigorous classes available. 

In Orange County, where Principal Johnson is driving strong outcomes, local educators have partnered closely with the North Carolina Advanced Placement Partnership through professional learning workshops and strategic planning support designed to strengthen AP instruction and expand student access to rigorous courses.   That work has paid off, with 82 percent of AP students in the district last year earning a score that qualifies for college credit. 

Teachers and school leaders across the state, from Jackson County to Pamlico County, support one another with advice and mentorship, meeting regularly to share ideas and proven strategies so that students everywhere can benefit. Those efforts have been especially important in rural schools, where access to college-level courses can be a challenge. In the decade since the partnership was launched, AP participation has grown by more than 26% in North Carolina, handily outpacing the nation.  

That growth represents real academic progress. Unlike many college-level programs, AP relies on an independent assessment to gauge whether students have learned the material. That accountability matters a lot, given that high school grades have climbed steadily across the country even as scores on independent assessments have declined. Students do not earn college credit through enrollment or effort alone, but by demonstrating mastery on independent assessments aligned to clear standards for college-level work. 

Against that backdrop, AP is straightforward. The exam is set, and if students want college credit, they have to work hard and show they’ve learned the material. AP course frameworks are publicly posted, so anyone — students, parents, policymakers — can see exactly what students are expected to know and what skills they have to demonstrate. That transparency is a form of accountability that most college coursework doesn’t offer. 

North Carolina has paired its partnership strategy with state policy: all AP students have access to AP exams regardless of ability to pay, and public universities — driven in part by advocacy from the Martin Center — have adopted clear, evidence-based credit policies that translate AP success into college progress. The message to students is coherent and motivating — do the work, pass the exam, and your effort will pay off. In 2025, North Carolina students earned more than 123,000 exam scores that qualified them for college credit, offsetting up to $92 million in tuition costs. That’s a big part of the reason that independent studies have found AP investments are a good deal not just for students, but for state taxpayers. 

Now AP is extending the same model into new territory. The same qualities that make AP effective at sparking college ambition are equally valuable for sparking career ambition. New AP courses in Business and Personal Finance and Cybersecurity are giving students rigorous preparation for fields that are central to today’s economy. A potential new course in health care could open similar pathways for students drawn to one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand sectors in the workforce.  

These aren’t watered-down alternative tracks.  They are college-level courses with the same demanding frameworks and high-stakes assessments that define AP across every subject. The underlying conviction is the same: that rigorous, substantive coursework shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for students already assumed to be college-bound, but should be available to any student with the drive to take it on. 

Education has a long history of drifting away from what works in search of what’s new. Trends arrive with urgency and fanfare, burn through time and resources, and then fade,  leaving behind frustrated parents and underprepared students. Genuine innovation should always be welcome, but there is a real cost to abandoning proven programs in pursuit of the new and next. AP is not a relic; it’s a bulwark. Through decades of fads in assessment and teaching, the core tenets of AP — high standards, strong teaching, meaningful assessment — have held steady. 

Greg Walker is the senior vice president for state and district partnerships at the College Board.