Kelcey Fleagle is a high school student taking three Advanced Placement classes.

"I just think I make smarter friends, and then we can work on our homework together and then we both succeed in the end of it also," she said.

She's not alone. In the last three years, female enrollment in AP classes in Wake County has increased by 26 percent in calculus to 47 percent in biology.

Environmental science is one of the most popular advanced placement classes at Wakefield High School. And, like an increasing number of high level science courses, it attracts as many - or more - girls than boys.

And it's paying off.

"We noticed that the gap between the genders on the sat is getting smaller, and we looked for an explanation for that," said David Holdzkom, assistant Superintendent for evaluation and research.
"One that presented itself was increased enrollments in math and science by girls in AP courses."

Student Rachel Gordon said it's not unusual for students to take up to six AP classes in a year.

"Math's my favorite subject," she said. "And last year, I took honors and AP physics and that was exciting because you go around the world and you go, ‘wow, I know how everything works now.'"

Wakefield High had one of the highest enrollments in AP classes last year, but Principal Mark Savage said budget cuts and scheduling may hurt this year's numbers.

"Especially when a kid takes multiple APs where we might only be able to offer one section first period and another section third period," Savage said.

Some principals are turning to the North Carolina Virtual Public High School to fill in the gaps. That may account for record enrollment this fall.

"They're saying, ‘I want a more rigorous curriculum, and schools are having to work to make sure that happens,'" Savage said.

Wake school officials say enrollment in advanced placement classes is up not only among females, but also among African-American students, Hispanic students and low-income students.