| | 2016 – 17 | 2017 – 18 | 2018 – 19 | 2019 – 20 |
| # of AP Scholar Awards | 433 | 486 | 969 | 946 |
| # of Exam Takers | 6,599 | 6,974 | 6,983 | 5,921 |
| # of Exams Taken | 9,903 | 10,456 | 10,744 | 9,115 |
| Students Scoring 3 or Higher | 4,178 | 4,545 | 4,735 | 4,691 |
Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) students continue to make progress on Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) exams despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a College Board summary report, a nationwide decrease of 7% can be seen in the total number of AP exams taken and total number of test takers for the 2019-20 school year, a likely impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The percentage of HIDOE students receiving an AP Scholar Award increased by 2 percentage points. Additionally, the total number of students receiving the AP Capstone Diploma increased 82% from 15 to 36 students. The number of students receiving a score of 3 or more continues to hold steady despite a 16% decrease in the number of students taking the exam and exams taken during the pandemic.
Students receive an AP Capstone Diploma by earning scores of 3 or higher on a five-point scale in an AP Seminar and AP Research course in addition to four AP exams of their choosing. The AP Seminar and AP Research courses teach subject-specific content and develop students’ skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing and presenting.
The following students qualified for the National AP Scholar Award by earning an average score of 4 or higher on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams:
| Student | School | Average | Total Exams |
| Long Vuving | Kalani High School | 4.4 | 10 |
| Brock T. Taylor | Kealakehe High School | 4.33 | 12 |
| Cameron Frey | Mililani High School | 4.55 | 11 |
| Hayley R. LaBonte | Mililani High School | 4.33 | 9 |
| Emmett K. Miyahara | Mililani High School | 4.7 | 10 |
| Brea A. Swartwood | Mililani High School | 4.67 | 12 |
| Jake A. Palmieri | Radford High School | 4.5 | 16 |
| Joshua O. Taylor | Radford High School | 4.7 | 10 |
| Kevin J. Cheng | Roosevelt High School | 4.33 | 9 |
| Lakota A. Nguyen | Roosevelt High School | 4.75 | 8 |
| Jenny X. Pang | Roosevelt High School | 4.5 | 10 |
| Haruna Tomono | Waiakea High School | 4.25 | 12 |
AP gives high school students taking rigorous college-level courses the opportunity to earn college credit, advance placement, or both. Each of the 38 different college-level courses and their respective exams is developed by a committee of undergraduate and AP faculty. This ensures that AP exams are aligned with the same standards as our nation’s leading education institutions.
Over 3,800 colleges and universities receive AP scores annually from high schools. Most four-year colleges in the U.S. provide credit and/or advanced placement for qualifying exam scores.
The percentage of HIDOE students receiving an AP Scholar Award increased by 2 percentage points. Additionally, the total number of students receiving the AP Capstone Diploma increased 82% from 15 to 36 students.
For more information about the AP Exam and past HIDOE results, click here.
