AP course offerings vary widely depending on where you live in New Jersey and where you go to school

Taniya Aviles, a senior at Charles Brimm Medical Arts High School, has three demanding Advanced Placement courses this year, and that’s enough for the aspiring FBI agent.

Her magnet school, located on the sprawling Camden High campus, offers five AP classes for juniors and seniors. The more rigorous classes are widely viewed as a stepping stone to college, giving students a head start.

“The options are good,” said Aviles, 17, currently ranked the top in her class. “It’s an added benefit.”

She represents a stark racial divide, however, in New Jersey, where Black and Latino students are less likely than white and Asian students to take any Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. In economically distressed districts such as Camden and Trenton, schools also tend to offer fewer AP courses, lagging behind many suburban districts: Cherry Hill, for instance, with about 10,000 students, offers three times as many AP and IB classes as Camden, with about 7,500 students. Newark, a poorer district and the largest school district in the state, is the exception, offering 39 classes, according to state data.

According to the latest data available from the New Jersey Department of Education, about 35% of juniors and seniors statewide were enrolled for the 2021-2022 school year in at least one AP or IB course. That’s down slightly from 2020-21, when 35.7% of students statewide were enrolled.

The 2021-22 numbers tell a different story when broken down by race: Enrolled in at least one AP or IB course were 68% of Asian students, 39% of white students, 28% of Alaskan or Native American students, 22% of Latino students, and 18% of Black students. There was also a divide by gender — AP and IB enrollment comprise 40% females compared with 29% males. (About 34% of students are nonbinary or did not designate their gender.)

The course offerings available to students vary widely by district. Students in more affluent suburban districts such as Haddonfield and Cherry Hill had more choices, making it possible to accumulate more college credits.

David Sciarra, the former longtime executive director of the Education Law Center, which has fought for decades for equal funding for poor districts, says the state has fallen short in making sure districts have a level playing field for AP classes.

“This is a racial and social-economic disparity in opportunity,” Sciarra said. “These problems can’t be dealt with by solely blaming the district. It needs help.”

The Camden school district, which has two comprehensive high schools and two magnet high schools, offered 10 AP courses for the 2021-22 school year, including art history, biology, calculus, chemistry, English literature and composition, environmental science, music theory, and U.S. history.

In nearby Haddonfield, 28 courses were offered in 2021-22. Cherry Hill offered 33 and Washington Township 27.

“While we are not where we need to be, we as a district are cognizant of the disparity,” said Camden Superintendent Katrina McCombs. “We know that this country’s education system didn’t always cater to children who are poor and of color.”

McCombs, who grew up in Camden and was educated in the public schools, said many students need to work and pursue schedules that allow them to get paid apprenticeships and internships. Others are focused on Career Technical Education, or CTE, as a path to jobs after graduation, she said.

“We are trying to meet our students where they are,” McCombs said.

In 2021-22, just 16.9% of students in Camden were enrolled in an AP or IB course, a number that has fallen since 2019-20, when 26.5% of students in the district were enrolled.

The school had a lower percentage of students enrolled in 2021-22 than both Newark and Winslow public schools — 19.5% and 19.7% respectively — but a higher percentage than Trenton, where enrollment was just 3.6%.

McCombs said Camden must work harder to attract teachers who can teach AP courses. The district said it plans to add a U.S. history AP class for sophomores next year and an AP precalculus class for juniors and seniors. Camden was selected by the state Department of Education for a two-year pilot program as one of 26 high schools to offer a new AP African American history class for the 2023-2024 school year. Currently, the course is offered at one New Jersey school.

There is a growing debate about whether AP classes, developed by the College Board, actually help students get into college. Taking the AP test gives students the ability to earn college credits or be excused from college classes that may save them thousands of dollars in tuition costs.

The School District of Philadelphia offers at least one AP course at 34 of its 56 high schools, said spokeswoman Marissa Orbanek. About 4,300 students districtwide are enrolled in 32 courses, she said.

Joshua Glazer, an associate professor of education policy at George Washington University, said the priority should be providing marginalized students in struggling school systems with rigorous learning, support, and resources to succeed.

“This is a dilemma that goes beyond AP,” Glazer said. “It’s not enough to just open the door to the class. You have to be prepared to support these kids.”

Aviles, the Brimm honor society president, took her first AP course — U.S. history — as a junior, along with 11 other students. She was the only student who passed the AP exam with a score of three.

This year, Aviles took three AP courses: calculus, English, and world history. She believes the rigorous course work will help in the future: She hopes to major in criminal justice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her friend LaShae Smith, 18, also a senior, signed up this year for AP English and world history. The aspiring veterinarian, who ranks fourth in her class, said she couldn’t manage a heavier course load.

“I feel like this is all I can handle,” said Smith. “Two is enough for me.”

The AP students say they enjoy the small class sizes and one-on-one attention from teachers. Some classes, such as biology, have only a few students. Some students decided not to take the exam, which requires a score of three or higher to earn college credits, though colleges may require higher scores for credit or reject the class altogether.

During a recent visit, Christian Watson, a Brimm senior, sat in Jenny Chen’s AP calculus class learning about the fundamental theorem of calculus. (The two other students in the class were absent because they were visiting colleges.)

Around the corner in Geoff Weismer’s AP biology class, two students were working on independent photosynthesis projects in the science lab as soft jazz played. The class has five students, all seniors.

Weismer said he expects the enrollment numbers to improve in the coming years. About one-third of the 18 sophomores currently taking honors biology are on the right track to move on to his AP biology class as seniors.

“AP is pretty intense for biology,” said Weismer, in his second year at Brimm. “It is a lot of materials.”

World history teacher Mark Carcanague has six students in his AP class. None is expected to pass the AP exam to earn college credits but will likely get passing marks for the class, he said.

“They have been working their tails off,” Carcanague said.

Carcanague said that 11 students took his class, an elective, in the 2020-21 school year, and none passed the AP exam. The class wasn’t offered in the 2021-22 school year when Camden’s high schools remained virtual, he said.

Teachers say Camden’s AP program has faced challenges getting back on track after the pandemic. The high schools were among the last in the region to resume in-person instruction after the coronavirus shut down schools in 2020.

The district also shifted to block scheduling this year, with 82-minute periods every other day, which results in about 60% less overall classroom time. In the past, classes were shorter but were held every day. Carcanague said 30% of his students passed the exam when class was held daily.

“We’ve really got our work cut out for us,” Carcanague said. “I hope we make changes for the better.”

Glazer and others say students still benefit from AP courses, whether or not they pass the exam. They are exposed to college-level courses, critical thinking, and higher expectations.

“If you’re taking one or two AP classes, that’s fantastic,” Glazer said. “You don’t need to take 12.”