The Sewanhaka Central High School District is among seven Long Island school districts recognized in the College Board’s third annual AP District Honor Roll for students achieving high scores on Advanced Placement exams and the district increasing participation in AP courses.
“We’re absolutely thrilled particularly in light of the efforts the district has been taking to expose students to more AP experiences,” said Cheryl Champ, Sewanhaka assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
The other Long Island districts that made the College Board list were Half Hollow Hills, Hempstead, Manhasset, Massapequa, Northport-East Northport and Southhampton.
In the Sewanhaka district, 2,784 AP exams were administered in 2012, up from the 2,304 AP exams administered in 2010, according to Champ. He said 75 percent of students taking the exams in 2012 scored 3, 4, or 5, while 71.8 percent of students taking the exams in 2010 scored a 3, 4,or 5.
“We’re opening the door a little wider, but that’s the sort of chance we want to take,” Champ said in a presentation at a Sewanhaka school board meeting in October.
Champ reported at the meeting that of the New Hyde Park Memorial students taking AP tests 100 percent of those taking the AP chemistry test achieved results of 3, 4 or 5 – results indicating passing or better – while 95 percent of those taking the biology test also achieved those scores, along with 92 percent of students taking the AP English language composition exam.
A total of 714 New Hyde Park Memorial students took AP exams last May, with 83 percent achieving scores of 3, 4 or 5 on the tests.
Current school district standards require students to maintain an 85 percent classroom performance level to be eligible for an AP course. But a strong desire to take an AP course and a teacher’s recommendation for that course are also factored in to a student’s eligibility.
Champ said principals at all five district high schools are encouraging students to take AP courses.
“Those students exposed to more rigorous course work are better prepared for college,” Champ said.
Champ said the increase in the number of Sewanhaka students taking the exams was partly based on the district’s participation in the Long Island Consortium for Excellence and Equity, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and Nassau BOCES, which advises school districts on best practices.
“As all school districts become more diverse, it’s an effort to support the needs of all students in a changing environment,” Champ said.
A total of 539 school districts in 44 of 50 states in the U.S. and six Canadian provinces achieved honor roll status. The state of Massachusetts, with 46, was represented by the largest number of AP honor roll districts, followed by Michigan, with 39 districts.
“There has been a great victory among educators who have believed that a more diverse population could indeed succeed in AP courses.
In 2012, AP scores were higher than they’d been since 2004, when 1 million fewer students were being given access. These outcomes are a powerful testament to educators’ belief that many more students were indeed ready and waiting for the sort of rigor that would prepare them for what they would encounter in college,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of the Advanced Placement Program.
In 2010 and 2011, the Herricks School District was among the school districts recognized by the College Board AP Honor Roll in the first two years the honor roll existed.
