South Florida schools have another set of top rankings to brag about — Miami-Dade and Broward are first and third in the nation for the number of Hispanic students passing the tough college-level Advanced Placement exams.

Performance among black students in both districts is also strong, according to rankings released to the districts by the College Board, the company that administers the test.

Broward is second in the nation for the rate of black students scoring 3 or higher on the exam. Miami-Dade is seventh out of some 15,000 school districts.

More than a dozen  schools from both districts are among the top 100 schools in the nation for minority performance — with six South Florida schools landing on the top 10 for Hispanic passing rates.

Broward’s Cypress Bay High School ranked No.1. Miami-Dade’s Coral Reef Senior High and Miami Palmetto High came in second and third out of 4,000 high schools nationwide that offer AP courses.

“Certainly it says a lot about the quality of teaching, the quality of leadership in our school system,” Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a Wednesday news conference, where principals and teachers highlighted their students’ success.

Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie pointed to the results as “a testament to what hard work can accomplish.”

At Cypress Bay in Weston, where 53 percent of its 4,000 students are of Hispanic origin, more than 3,000 AP exams were administered last year.

“What’s remarkable is that, for many of these students, English is not their first language,” Cypress Bay Assistant Principal Marianela Estripeaut said. “Here they are taking exams that are essay based, or where there is a tremendous amount of reading required, and they’re still rising to the challenge and blossoming.”

With so many of Weston’s families having recently moved to the area from Latin America, the school has focused on educating parents on the value of AP courses. More than 150 Spanish-speaking parents recently squeezed into the school’s media center for a workshop on the ABCs of the AP and other college entrance exams.

“When you come to this country, you obviously want the best level of education for your children,” said parent Milagros Soto, whose ninth-grade son, Juan Diego Yanez, is taking AP Spanish. “It’s a proud feeling knowing that the school is pushing its students to reach for the best.”

Nationally, the number of black and Hispanic students taking AP exams has grown steadily. In 2010, close to 20,000 black students passed the AP exams, up from nearly 8,000 in 2001, according to an AP report. Hispanic participation over that period doubled, with 75,000 students passing the exams in 2010.

In Miami-Dade, every high school is required to offer at least eight AP courses, and every student enrolled in an AP course must take the national exam, Carvalho said. The number of students enrolled in AP courses — and their scores on the exam — factor into the state-issued letter grades for high schools. Carvalho said that’s not why there’s such focus in Dade. “We believe the experience alone is important,” he said.

In Pinecrest, Miami Palmetto Senior High saw 96 percent of students enrolled in AP European History pass the exam. Their teacher, Dan Corradino, chalked up the success to his students. “I have really competitive kids that like to work hard, and I give them that challenge,” he said.

AP teachers in both districts regularly hold extra study sessions after school or on Saturdays, and students often form study groups on their own, which prepares them for the college experience.

High achievement on AP exams — which are rigorous and graded nationally — is considered a strong indicator of students’ success in college. Many colleges and universities provide college credit for scores of 3 or higher, serving as extra motivation for students to enroll and pass.

“You’re going to save your parents money,” said Dori Guerra, who teaches AP English and AP Literature at Miami Coral Park Senior High. “In this economy, that’s the driving force.”

One of her former students graduated high school in 2010, and will graduate from the University of Florida this spring.