Record number take AP exams

A record number of Illinois high school students took Advanced Placement, or AP, exams last year.

The increase was especially notable among Latino students, as the number of Latinos taking AP classes has quadrupled in the past decade, the Illinois State Board of Education says.

Overall, nearly 30 percent of high school seniors in the class of 2011 took at least one AP exam— double what it was in 2001.

The share of students passing the tests is up, too — by 7.5 percent.