Park City High AP participation and pass rates reach six-year highs

Park City High School reported six-year highs in Advanced Placement exam participation and pass rates during the 2025-26 school year. Photo: TownLift

Sixty-one percent of students took an AP exam in 2025-26, while 88% of test-takers passed at least one.

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City High School recorded its highest Advanced Placement exam participation and pass rates in six years, with more students taking the tests even as the percentage passing continued to rise.

Sixty-one percent of students in grades 9-12 took at least one AP exam during the 2025-26 school year, according to College Board data presented Tuesday to the Park City Board of Education.

That was up from 59% the previous year and 41% in 2020-21.

Among students who took AP exams, 88% passed at least one in 2025-26. The pass rate increased from 87% the previous year and 76% in 2020-21.

The results show a steady increase in both measures. Exam participation rose 20 percentage points over the six years, while the share of test-takers passing at least one exam increased 12 percentage points.

Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman highlighted the results during her back-to-school report to the board. She noted that pass rates can decline when more students participate, but Park City’s rates continued to rise as exam participation expanded.

Among members of the Class of 2026, 79% passed at least one AP exam at some point during high school, according to the district.

AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. The College Board considers a score of 3 “qualified,” and many colleges grant credit or advanced placement for scores of 3 or higher. Credit policies vary by institution.

The district cautioned that AP exam participation and AP coursework participation are different measurements.

AP exam participation counts students who took a test. Coursework participation measures students enrolled in AP classes, regardless of whether they took an exam.

According to Utah State Board of Education data presented by the district, 83% of Park City High School students participated in AP coursework during 2024-25, up from 82% the previous year. The state has not yet released the school’s AP coursework participation rate for 2025-26.

The new results follow Park City High School’s rise to No. 3 among Utah high schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings. Park City moved up from No. 5 and remains Utah’s second-highest-ranked traditional public high school, behind Skyline High School.

The rankings consider several measures, including college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, graduation rates, and outcomes for underserved students.

However, the district said the latest U.S. News rankings are based on data from the 2023-24 school year. That means the rankings do not reflect Park City’s 2025-26 AP results presented Tuesday.

The high school also earned the College Board’s highest-level platinum designation on the 2025 AP School Honor Roll. TownLift previously reported that 83% of the Class of 2025 took at least one AP exam during high school, 71% scored a 3 or higher on at least one exam, and 40% took five or more AP exams, including at least one during ninth or 10th grade.