Opening the window of opportunity more than pays for itself.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration recently announced that the number of Massachusetts public high-school students who scored a 3 or higher on Advanced Placement exams has risen by 55% since 2021, with Black and Hispanic or Latino students making some of the strongest gains, according to recent data from the College Board.

The minority students’ impressive gains didn’t happen by accident.

If you don’t play, you can’t score.

And in this case, if you don’t have the financial means to pay for the AP exam, you’ll never know how you measure up against your other classmates and students nationwide.

AP exams cost almost $100 each, which can be an insurmountable obstacle for students from lower-income families.

But through the administration’s Reimagining High School initiative, which seeks to ensure that high school graduates have the educational skills necessary to succeed, whether in college or in today’s workforce, the state subsidizes the majority of that AP fee.

With the state’s contribution, low-income students – or their school – will only need to pay $22 per AP exam.

Studies show that students who take AP courses in high school are more likely to enroll in a four-year college and perform better in introductory college courses.

Under this administration, Massachusetts has subsidized 90,783 AP exams for nearly 50,000 low-income students.

Bolstered by that influx of AP test takers, the number of public high-school students taking Advanced Placement tests grew by 26% from 2021 to 2025.

The number of Black students scoring 3 or higher out of a possible 5 on an AP test nearly tripled from 2021 to 2025, and the number of Hispanic or Latino students more than doubled, compared to an overall increase of 55% for Massachusetts public school students.

These gains came as the number of Massachusetts students taking AP exams is rising, up 47% for Black students and 72% for Hispanic/Latino students, compared to 26% overall.

“AP success opens doors to college and career pathways, and seeing such strong gains, especially among Black and Hispanic students, shows what’s possible when access, preparation and opportunity align,” said Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler.

These results reinforce the state’s already documented AP success rate.

The administration announced in February that a third of students who graduated from Massachusetts public high schools in 2024 scored a 3 or higher on an AP exam, the state’s highest percentage ever and the highest in the nation for the second year in a row.

A score of 3 out of 5 on an AP exam indicates a student’s ability to complete work for an introductory college-level course in that subject area. Some colleges will award students credit for AP scores of 3 or higher.

Yes, opening that door of opportunity can pay dividends for countless students, and well worth the price of those incentives.

Sentinel and Enterprise

Editorial cartoon by Joe Heller (Joe Heller)