Commissioner of Education
Michael Williams today noted that 14 Texas school districts are among 477
in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board
with placement on its 4th Annual AP
® District Honor Roll. The
Honor Roll recognizes districts for increasing access to
AP course work while simultaneously
maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or
higher on AP Exams.
The 13 districts and one charter
school in Texas that have earned this national distinction are:
§ Carroll Independent School District
(Southlake, TX)
§ Coppell Independent School District
§ Eagle Pass Independent School District
§ Frisco Independent School District
§ IDEA Public Schools
§ Irving Independent School District
§ Katy Independent School District
§ Lake Travis Independent School
District
§ Mesquite Independent School District
§ Pasadena Independent School District
§ Plano Independent School District
§ Point Isabel Independent School
District
§ Sharyland Independent School District
(Mission, TX)
§ Southwest Independent School District
(San Antonio, TX)
“Students in school districts across Texas are
tackling rigorous Advanced Placement courses and succeeding,” said Commissioner
Williams. “This opportunity to prepare for post secondary success in high school
pays great dividends in our education system today and for our state’s economic
future.”
In 2013, more than 3,300 colleges and universities
around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement
and/or consideration in the admission process, with many colleges and
universities in the United States offering credit in one or more subjects for
qualifying AP scores.
Data
from 2013 show that among African-American, Hispanic and Native American
students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students
are participating because their schools do not always offer the AP course for
which they have potential. Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice
president of AP and Instruction, notes that these 14 Texas districts are
committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and
motivated students of all backgrounds.
“We
applaud the extraordinary efforts of the devoted teachers and administrators in
these districts who are offering more students the opportunity to engage in
rigorous college-level course work,” said Packer. “These outcomes are a
powerful testament to educators’ belief that a more diverse population of
students is ready for the sort of rigor that will prepare them for success in
college.”
Inclusion
on the 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three
years of AP data, from 2011 to 2013, for the following criteria. Districts
must:
§
Increase
participation/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;
§
Increase or maintain
the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and
American Indian/Alaska Native students, and;
§
Improve performance
levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2013 scoring a 3 or higher
to those in 2011, unless the district has already attained a performance
level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students are scoring a 3 or
higher.
Overall,
Texas ranked 13th in nation in the percentage of 2012 graduates participating
in AP. Over the last decade, AP participation and success in Texas have
increased steadily.
To view the complete listing of school districts
named to the College Board’s 4th Annual AP® District Honor
Roll, visit www.collegeboard.org.
