Students in Massachusetts lead the nation in achievement on Advanced Placement exams.
The nonprofit College Board, which administers the exams, says 32.1 percent of students who graduated from the state's public high schools last year scored a three or better on at least one exam.
Massachusetts edged out Maryland, where 31.2 percent of 2017 graduates scored a three or better, effectively meaning they passed. Nationally, 22.8 percent passed an exam.
Education experts debate the effectiveness of the program, but the College Board says its new data show continued success.
The New York-based group says the number of students taking tests and the number passing them have both increased by about 70 percent since 2007.
Michael Hansen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, says the findings are "very encouraging."
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