The College Board has announced that Illinois ranks No. 1 among all states for charting the largest year-over-year increase in the percentage of public high school graduates scoring a three or higher on at least one Advanced Placement (AP) Exam during high school. Illinois’ rate of graduates scoring three or higher grew by four percent from 2018 to 2019. In the Class of 2019, 28.4 percent of students scored a 3 or higher on an AP Exam, compared to 27.3 percent in the Class of 2018. Latinx students in all grades are driving Illinois’ gains in AP Exam participation and success. The proportion of Latinx students taking AP exams grew by over three percent, accounting for 26.7 percent of all AP Exam takers in 2019 – up from 25.7 percent in 2018. ISBE’s 2019 Illinois Report Card showed four years of continuous growth in students’ access to and success in Advanced Placement. Statewide, students of color made up 48 percent of total students enrolled in AP courses in 2019 – up six percentage points from just three years ago. At the same time that the state has expanded access, Illinois has raised its pass rate on AP Exams by over two percentage points since 2016.