More students are college bound and making the grade
Destrehan High School’s 45.4 percent pass rate on the 2015-16 Advanced Placement (AP) exams exceeded the state average of 34 percent with Hahnville High School coming within .7 percent of it.
“St. Charles Parish Public Schools has incrementally increased the number of AP courses offered at each high school,” said Ajit “AJ” Pethe, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment. “In addition, more students are encouraged to take these high level courses that are based on college level curriculum. Combined, both high schools rank in top 12 percent of high schools in Louisiana for the number of students taking an AP exam while the combined percent of students scoring a 3 or higher rank in the top 23 percent.”
Pethe said the district pays for and requires all students taking AP courses to also take the corresponding AP exam. The tests results are analyzed and opportunities for improvement are identified.
DHS results show 45.4 percent of students who took the tests scored 3 or better, which is down from last year’s 56.8 percent. The total number who took the tests at 205 was up from last year’s 185 students.
The school’s pass rate was 42.6 percent in 2012-13, and 50.7 percent in 2013-14.
Pethe said AP courses are college-level courses created by the College Board that offer college-level curricula and exams to high school students. Students who take the exams can get college credit if they score 3, 4 or 5 on their exam. A school’s performance score is affected by how many students take and score on the exam.
HHS’ 33.3 percent of students who scored 3 or better is up from last year’s 27.2 percent. Fewer students took the exams this year at 339, down from last year’s 456The school’s pass rate was 42.6 percent in 2012-13, and 40 percent in 2013-14.
Maximum score on an AP test is 5. The popular exams were English, language and composition, U.S. History and Human Geography.
Pethe said the historical exam data on both high schools shows they’ve both significantly increase the number of students who have taken the exams.
“In the mindset of continuous improvement, the board has set long-range goals to improve the effectiveness of our AP program through our Long Range Strategic Action Plan,” she said. “Both high schools make it a priority to improve their programs by meeting regularly to evaluate program effectiveness and the feasibility of specific courses.
Additionally, they offer after school tutoring for AP students and an Advanced Studies course specifically designed to support students who take multiple AP courses.”
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, these tests are the last “raw” test scores for the 2015-16 school year and complete the snapshot of Louisiana schools’ improvement in AP, as well as ACT scores, graduation rates and younger students’ state exam scores that have all crept upward in recent years.
Statewide, 25,459 students took AP exams compared to 2013’s 10,389 students. The 34 percent pass rate is substantially up from 2 percent in 2015 and 1 percent in 2013.
Be the first to comment