SACRAMENTO, Calif. – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said this week he is exceptionally proud of the greater number and success of California students in the class of 2011 who took rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) courses, followed by demanding AP exams.

"Substantially greater numbers of California's public high school students were among the graduating class of 2011 who took challenging AP courses and then did remarkably well on the exams," Torlakson said.

"I also was encouraged to see more minority and low-income students enrolling in AP courses as a precursor to a college career," he said. "We still have a way to go to close the achievement gap among California's students, but these results show that we're moving in the right direction."

The College Board on Wednesday released the eighth annual AP Report to the Nation that showed California is among the top five states providing historically underserved public high school students increased access to the courses and exams.

In addition, the College Board's Report highlighted the "tremendous progress and success of California students and educators."

It revealed that the number of the state's public high school graduates participating in AP has nearly doubled in the last decade, and more than 90,000 students of the graduating class scored a 3 (denoting "qualified") or higher on at least one AP exam – nearly double the number in 2001.