Maryland public high school students outperformed all others in the nation on the rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) exams, according to the College Board's fifth annual analysis of the AP program. Maryland ranked first nationwide in the percentage of public school students scoring 3 or higher on at least one AP exam. A score of 3 or higher on the 5-point scale is considered mastery of college-level work. Maryland also ranked first nationwide in the percent of students taking AP exams. Maryland continues to show strong performance gains over the past five years. Between 2003 and 2008, the percentage of Maryland seniors scoring a 3-5 on an exam climbed nearly 6 percentage points. The percent of Maryland students who took an AP exam during high school exceeds the national average in all content areas: art, English, language, math, science, and social science. More than one-third of all graduating seniors in Maryland (37.2%) took an AP exam in high school compared to only 25% nationwide. Maryland has also dramatically increased AP participation among minority students. Maryland has eliminated the "equity and excellence" gap among Hispanic students, meaning their representation among test-takers who earn a score of 3 or higher (6.9%) actually exceeds their overall school enrollment (6.1%). While no state has been able to overcome the gap for African-American students, 9% of Maryland test-takers scoring a 3 or higher were African-American.