Stark County Increasing Student Participation in Advanced Placement (AP) Coursework
The release last week of the College Board's 8th Annual AP Report to the Nation[1] was followed by a statement from Stan Heffner, Ohio's superintendent of public instruction.
"Despite being encouraged by the slight gains we are making in Ohio in regards to student participation - we must do more," said Heffner. "We must continue to promote AP course offerings and provide our students with more opportunities to jumpstart their college careers."[2]
Stark County educators have been doing that for the last two years.
In 2011, the number of Stark County students taking AP courses surpassed 2,000 for the second year in a row, up from 1,500 in 2009. Students took a record 3,261 AP exams with over 2,000 being scored at 3 or above, qualifying them for college credit at over 3,000 institutions across the nation.
There is yet more good news. For the 2011-12 academic year, districts are offering a total of 157 AP courses. In 2009, the number was 121.[3]
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