Through the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the state makes a strategic investment of public dollars to assure Arizona’s competitive edge in attracting knowledge workers and their businesses. The diversity of Arizona’s artistic offerings becomes a magnet for attracting tourists. This public investment encourages contributions from the private sector and leverages these dollars many times over, contributing enormously to the quality of life and education opportunities the people of Arizona expect.

Students with AP credit are often able to skip general studies courses and take courses related to their majors earlier in their college careers than students without AP credits. Recent federal and state policies have been aimed at expanding students’ access to AP courses. In this brief, we examine students’ access, participation, and success in AP courses in Arizona’s public high schools.