Advanced Placement (AP) participation and examination performance data are important in understanding the extent to which Texas students have completed courses that may qualify them for a "head start"--advanced standing, course credit, or both standing and credit--upon beginning college or university course work. A brief history and overview of the College Board AP program is presented in this report, along with a general description of AP courses and examinations, AP benefits and costs, Texas high school graduation requirements with AP components, and college and university AP policies. In addition, recent efforts contributing to increased policy and research interest in Texas AP examination performance, such as the Texas Advanced Placement Incentive Program and national and regional reports of AP examination data, are covered. National and Texas AP participation and performance data provide a backdrop for discussion of issues related to reporting of AP indicator data. Trends in national and Texas AP participation and performance are presented. Texas AP participation and performance are also examined in relation to student demographic characteristics and course-taking patterns, and campus and district characteristics. The report concludes with a discussion of statutory considerations for adopting AP indicators, other potential avenues for AP results reporting and research, and basic considerations for AP results interpretation and reporting. One finding is that, although the cost of AP examinations is less of an issue than it once was, examination fee costs are still a potential barrier to campus or district participation rates. Another finding from Texas data is that small schools and small districts typically have lower AP examination participation than large schools and districts. (Contains 8 tables, 6 figures, and 34 references.) (Author/SLD)