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Georgia has 12th Highest Percent of Seniors Scoring a 3 or Higher on AP Exams

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org  - Follow us on  Twitter  and  Facebook     February 17, 2010 --  Georgia has the 12th highest percent of seniors scoring a 3 or higher on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams, according to The College Board's AP Report to the Nation released last week. This report measures progress of the class of 2009.      "I am proud that more Georgia students than ever are challenging themselves with demanding course work and are successfully mastering the material," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "We recognize that one of the best ways to close the achievement gap is to challenge all students with rigorous work and high expectations."      Advanced Placement classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP classes offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school. Students who receive a 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams may receive college credit.      The AP Report to the Nation looks at data for 2009 High School seniors. Among Georgia's public high school seniors in 2009:      - 17.8% scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during high school. That is higher than the national average of 15.9%.      - Georgia is tied for 2nd in the nation when comparing the five-year increase of public school seniors scoring a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam (5.4% growth compared to 3.2% for the nation.)      - Georgia ranks 3rd in the nation for its one-year increase of public school seniors scoring a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam (1.5% growth compared to 0.7% for the nation.)      When it comes to public school students enrolling in AP courses and taking the exams, Georgia is also a national leader. Only one other state in the country had a greater one-year increase in the number of AP exam-takers and number of exams given. The number of AP exams taken by Georgia's public school seniors increased 3.3% since 2008, compared to a 1.5% national average increase.    AP Growth Among All Students       Almost 64,000 Georgia students in all grades took at least one AP exam in 2008-2009, an increase of more than 11 percent from the previous year. Georgia's AP population continues to get more diverse as well, with more African-American and Hispanic students taking the rigorous classes.      "We know in Georgia that we must continue to close the achievement gap, and that's why it is so important that more of our minority students are taking these rigorous AP courses and doing well on the exams," Superintendent Cox said. "This AP report shows that Georgia is a leader in minority test-takers and success. We have work left to be done, but we are making tremendous progress."      During the 2008-2009 school year, more than 12,300 African-American public school students (all grades) took an AP exam. That's an increase of 17 percent from the previous year and represents more than 10 percent of all public school African-American test-takers nationwide. There were 3,507 Hispanic students (all grades) that took at least one AP exam in 2008-2009, an increase of more than 19% from the previous year.      According to the AP Report to the Nation, among Georgia's high school seniors:      - More than 23% of students who took an AP exam in 2008-2009 were African-American, an increase of almost one percentage point from the previous year.      - 11.4% of Georgia's African-American high school seniors scored 3 or higher on at least one AP exam. That is almost eight points higher than the national average.      - About 5.6% of Georgia's AP test takers were Hispanic, higher than Georgia's overall Hispanic student population (5.5 percent).    State Efforts to Increase AP Participation       The State of Georgia has undertaken many successful efforts to increase participation in AP programs and success on AP exams. Among the initiatives:      - At the request of Governor Perdue and Superintendent Cox, the Legislature has approved money to pay for students to take one AP exam per year. Economically-disadvantaged students can have all of their AP exams paid for each year.      - The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has organized the distribution of AP Teacher Quality Training Grants. Since 2006, the GaDOE has funded approximately $717,000 in grant awards to train 869 new AP teachers. These awards have allowed 573 new AP courses to be offered in public high schools throughout the state. It is anticipated that in 2010 an additional 282 AP teachers will be trained.      - The GaDOE has sponsored regional workshops for teachers of AP in the fall for the past three years. These workshops are led by master teachers of AP in Georgia high schools. To date, over 1,600 AP teachers have participated in these course-specific workshops.      - The Georgia Virtual School (GAVS) continues to add AP classes, increasing access to students throughout the state, including those that might not otherwise be able to take an AP class. In 2008-2009, 578 students enrolled in 20 different AP courses. The Georgia Virtual School will begin offering AP Spanish in Fall 2010.      - The GaDOE developed the AP Handheld Project this year and gave $64,580 in grants to 56 schools for the purchase of handheld technology for students to use in their courses.    AP Honor Schools       Superintendent Cox also named today more than 125 AP Honor Schools.  "Georgia is making tremendous strides with Advanced Placement -- not only in the number of students taking the courses, but in the number of students having success," Superintendent Cox said. "Much of that progress comes from the dedication to rigor and excellence at each of our AP Honor Schools."      The 2010 AP Honor Schools are named in three categories, based on the results of 2008-2009 AP classes and exams:    - AP CHALLENGE SCHOOLS: Schools with fewer than 900 students that are offering AP classes in the four core areas of English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science    - AP ACCESS & SUPPORT SCHOOLS: Schools with 30% of AP test takers that are African-American or Hispanic and at least 30% of all AP exams scoring 3 or higher     - AP MERIT SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 20% of students taking AP exams and at least half of the AP exams scoring a 3 or higher   The AP Honor Schools are listed below.    AP CHALLENGE SCHOOLS:  Schools with fewer than 900 students that are offering AP classes in all four academic areas   Albany HS, Dougherty County  Allatoona HS, Cobb County  AR Johnson Magnet HS, Richmond County  Armuchee HS, Floyd County  Avondale HS, DeKalb County  Bowdon HS, Carroll County  Buford HS, Buford City  Callaway HS, Troup County  Carver School of Health Sciences, Atlanta City  Chattooga HS, Chattooga County  Clinch County HS, Clinch County  Commerce HS, Commerce City  Cook County HS, Cook County  Coosa HS, Floyd County  Cross Keys HS, DeKalb County  Decatur HS, Decatur City  DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb County  Gordon Central HS, Gordon County  Gordon Lee HS, Chickamauga City  Greene County HS, Greene County  Hancock Central HS, Hancock County  Heritage HS, Catoosa County  Howard HS, Bibb County  Jefferson HS, Jefferson City  John Davidson Magnet HS, Richmond County  Lincoln County HS, Lincoln County  Long County HS, Long County  McIntosh County Academy, McIntosh County  Model HS, Floyd County  Mount Zion HS, Carroll County  Northeast HS, Bibb County  Oglethorpe County HS, Oglethorpe County  Rabun County HS, Rabun County  Savannah School of the Arts, Chatham County  Screven County HS, Screven County  Southwest HS, Bibb County  TEACH Charter HS, Fulton County  Temple HS, Carroll County  Therrell School of Health Sciences, Atlanta City  Thomasville HS, Thomasville City  Vidalia HS, Vidalia City  Westside HS, Richmond County    AP ACCESS & SUPPORT SCHOOLS : Schools with 30% of AP test takers that are African-American or Hispanic and at least 30% of all AP exams scoring 3 or higher   AR Johnson Magnet HS, Richmond County  Academy of Richmond County HS, Richmond County  Baldwin HS, Baldwin County  Benjamin Mays HS, Atlanta City  Berkmar HS, Gwinnett County  Bradwell Institute, Liberty County  Campbell HS, Cobb County  Cedar Shoals HS, Clarke County  Cedartown HS, Polk County  Central Gwinnett HS, Gwinnett County Chamblee Charter HS, DeKalb County Chapel Hill HS, Douglas County  Cross Keys HS, DeKalb County  Dacula HS, Gwinnett County  Dalton HS, Dalton City  DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb County  Douglas County HS, Douglas County  Dutchtown HS, Henry County  Eagle’s Landing HS, Henry County  Early County HS, Early County  Fayette County HS, Fayette County  Henry Grady HS, Atlanta City  Herschel Jenkins HS, Chatham County  Jenkins County HS, Jenkins County  John Davidson Magnet HS, Richmond County  Liberty County HS, Liberty County  Lithia Springs HS, Douglas County  Luella HS, Henry County  Marietta HS, Marietta City  McEachern HS, Cobb County  Phoenix HS, Gwinnett County  Rockdale County HS, Rockdale County  Salem HS, Rockdale County  Sandy Creek HS, Fayette County  Shiloh HS, Gwinnett County  South Gwinnett HS, Gwinnett County  Southwest DeKalb HS, DeKalb County  Statesboro HS, Bulloch County  Woodland HS, Henry County     AP MERIT SCHOOLS : Schools with at least 20% of students taking AP exams and at least half of the AP exams scoring a 3 or higher   Alpharetta HS, Fulton County  Brookwood HS, Gwinnett County  Centennial HS, Fulton County  Chamblee Charter HS, DeKalb County  Chattahoochee HS, Fulton County  Columbus HS, Muscogee County  Decatur HS, Decatur City  DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb County  Druid Hills HS, DeKalb County  Duluth HS, Gwinnett County  Dunwoody HS, DeKalb County  George Walton HS, Cobb County  Greenbrier HS, Columbia County  Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology, Gwinnett County  Harrison HS, Cobb County  John Davidson Magnet HS, Richmond County  Lakeside HS, Columbia County  Lakeside HS, DeKalb County  Lassiter HS, Cobb County  Milton HS, Fulton County  North Gwinnett HS, Gwinnett County  North Oconee HS, Oconee County  North Springs HS, Fulton County  Northview HS, Fulton County  Oconee County HS, Oconee County  Parkview HS, Gwinnett County  Peachtree Ridge HS, Gwinnett County  Riverwood HS, Fulton County  Roswell HS, Fulton County  Savannah Arts Academy, Chatham County  South Forsyth HS, Forsyth County  Starr’s Mill HS, Fayette County  West Forsyth HS, Forsyth County  Wheeler HS, Cobb County    Georgia's AP Report   AP Charts and Data
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