WASHINGTON — More high school students are proving they can keep up with college-level courses, passing Advanced Placement exams that have become a measure of academic rigor.

About one of every seven members in the class of 2006 scored at least a 3 (out of 5) on an AP exam sometime during their high school career, according to a report out recently by the College Board, which administers the AP test. Only one in 10 members of the class of 2000 did so.

That's an important trend as the United States tries to keep up with other countries, especially in math and science, said College Board President Gaston Caperton.

"Students who succeed on an AP exam are better prepared for the rigors of college, and more likely to obtain a bachelor's degree," said Caperton, the former governor of West Virginia.

However, Hawai'i lags behind national averages in participation as well as the percentage of those scoring at least a 3 (see box).

President Bush's budget proposal, unveiled last week, calls for more rigor in low-income high schools, including spending an additional $90 million to increase AP course offerings.

The College Board trains AP teachers and assesses how students did through its annual exam. There are 37 course exams, including such diverse subjects as art history, math and Chinese, though not every student who takes an AP course is required to take the exam. One of every four did not last year.

In 2006, 14.8 percent of all graduating high school seniors got at least a 3 on one AP exam. A student who gets a 3 on the exam is considered "qualified" in the subject, and many colleges will give them credit as if they had taken an introductory, college-level course.

Nearly nine of 10 freshmen who entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005 earned a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam, said Lynn Krebs, AP coordinator for the Milwaukee Public Schools.

Kyle Daniels, a University of Maryland freshman who passed six AP exams in high school, said the rigors of high school more than prepared him for college.

"I got an A and it wasn't difficult," he said about the organic chemistry class he got to take right away because his AP success allowed him to skip basic chemistry.

A study last year by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Virginia challenged the quality of certain AP science courses, saying students who did well in high school did not always excel at the companion introductory class in college.

"I worry that the AP course they take in high school might be a good course but it doesn't appear to be a substitute for an entry-level course in college," said Philip Sadler, a senior lecturer with the Harvard University Department of Astronomy.

But a University of Texas study found that AP students who earned college credit earned higher grades and took more credit hours in college than non-AP high school students.