Stoughton High Makes AP Honor Roll

The following is a press release from the College Board:

The is one of fewer than 400 public school districts in the nation being honored by the College Board with a place on the 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll.

Schools placed on the AP Honor Roll simultaneously increased access to Advanced Placement coursework while also maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams (the exams are scored 1-5, with 5 being the top score). 

Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s Advanced Placement program, because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework. 

Since 2009, increased the number of students participating in AP classes from 99 to 134, while also improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 54% in 2009 to 63% in 2011. 

The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams.

“This is a serious accomplishment, a very good sign for the school,” Stoughton High principal Matt Colantonio said.

Recently, Stoughton High has added an AP Computer Science and AP Physics course, while expanding the number of sections of AP courses offered in other subjects.

The 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll is made up of only those public school districts that are simultaneously expanding opportunity and improving performance. The list includes 367 school districts across 43 states and Canada. Pennsylvania led all states with 34 public school districts named to the 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll, followed by Massachusetts and New York, both with 30.

“Participation in college-level AP courses can level the playing field for underserved students, give them the confidence needed to succeed in college, and raise standards and performance in key subjects like science and math,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton.

“The AP Honor Roll districts are defying expectations by expanding access while enabling their students to maintain or improve their AP Exam scores.”

Many U.S. school districts have focused on expanding access to AP courses as part of a strategy to improve college readiness. These efforts have resulted in more students earning scores of 3 or better.  They have also resulted in more students earning scores of 1 or 2. Accordingly, there has been a slight decline since 2001 in the overall percentage of AP students scoring a 3 or better, a decline that can be expected in any program attracting a much broader cross-section of students.

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to expand access and improve student performance simultaneously.

“[Stoughton High] has achieved something very remarkable. It managed to open the doors of its AP classrooms to many more students, while also increasing the percentage of students earning high enough AP Exam grades to stand out in the competitive college admission process and qualify for college credit and placement,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and college readiness.

Inclusion on the 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria:

• Examination of three years of AP data, from 2009 to 2011

• Increase in participation in/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts

• A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students

• Performance levels maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of students in 2011 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2009, or the school has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

School districts in which low-income and/or underrepresented minority students (African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native) comprise 30 percent or more of the AP student population have been highlighted on the Achievement List to recognize significant improvements in equity and quality among the nation’s historically underserved student populations.

The complete 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at www.collegeboard.org.