Schools

Shiloh, South Gwinnett and Brookwood High Named AP Honor Schools

School received the honor for high marks and participation on Advanced Placement exams in 2012.

All Snellville high schools excelled in Advanced Placement exams in the past school year, and received recent distinction as AP Honor Schools in Georgia, according to district officials.

The state Department of Education released its report on Advanced Placement (AP) exams on Feb. 20. The data is based on the 2012 graduating class.

Some 424 schools -- including Gwinnett County's 18 traditional high schools and two charter schools -- across the state were honored by the state for either high marks and participation. The exams allow students to gain college credit while in high school.

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"We are proud of the work our teachers do every day as they challenge and guide students to tackle more rigorous coursework," said Gale Hey, associate superintendent for teaching and learning at GCPS.

In Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), 12,205 students took 23,468 AP exams in 2012. Some 59 percent scored a three or higher on the tests, according to the district. Nationwide, officials said Georgia ranks 12th in the percentage of seniors scoring a 3 or higher.

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The "announcement reinforces this success and serves as a reminder of the good job our schools are doing in preparing students for college and the future," Hey added.

In a press release, State School Superintendent John Barge applauded students for their hard work.

"Georgia’s students continue to outperform most of their peers throughout the country on Advanced Placement exams," he said. "These results show that Georgia’s students can compete against any students in the nation.

"Just as SAT results get everyone’s attention, I think the performance of our students on Advanced Placement exams deserves the same attention."

Not only did Snellville schoosl receive the distinction, but they were joined by all Gwinnett high schools. 

The 20 GCPS schools recognized as 2013 AP Honor Schools are:

AP Access and Support Schools: Schools with at least 30 percent of their AP exams taken by students who identified themselves as African-American and/or Hispanic and 30 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher:

  • Shiloh High

AP Merit Schools: Schools with at least 20 percent of the student population taking AP exams and at least 50 percent of all AP exams earning scores of three (3) or higher

  • Brookwood High

AP STEM Schools: Schools with students testing in at least two AP mathematics courses and two AP science courses (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics B, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science)

  • Brookwood High
  • Shiloh High
  • South Gwinnett High

AP STEM Achievement Schools: Schools with students testing in at least two AP math courses and two AP science courses and at least 40 percent of the exam scores on AP math and AP science exams earning scores of three (3) or higher

  • Brookwood High

Facts and Figures, Statewide

The number of public school graduates leaving high school having taken an AP Exam in Georgia has increased by 149 percent in the last decade.

Some 21.7 percent (17,767) of students from Georgia’s public high school class of 2012 scored 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during high school (ranking Georgia 12th in the nation), compared to 19.5 percent for the nation.

About 41 percent of graduates (33,647) from Georgia’s public high school class of 2012 took at least one AP Exam during high school, compared to 28.3 percent (21,730) from the class of 2007 and 20.5 percent (13,518) from the class of 2002.

Georgia ranks 9th in the nation when comparing the ten-year increase of seniors scoring a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam (10.1 percent growth compared to 7.9 percent for the nation).

The number of Hispanic/Latino graduates who took at least one AP exam during high school increased from 995 for the class of 2007 to 2,488 for the class of 2012.


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