Advanced Placement Exams Taken in Major Fields, 1996–2013

Most of the available data can only tell us about students as they emerge from higher education institutions with degrees—if they do emerge. It may be useful to contrast the trends in the number of degree recipients at the end of the undergraduate pipeline with the trends among high-school students. One of the more interesting points of contrast is the substantial rise in the number of high-school students taking Advanced Placement exams in the humanities relative to other fields. The possible relationship between trends at the high-school level and those at the college level has yet to be fully studied.