Albert Lea Area Schools is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the ninth annual AP District Honor Roll, according to a press release. 

To be included on the Honor Roll, Albert Lea Area Schools had to increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher since 2016. Reaching those goals shows the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP, the release states.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our  advanced placement accomplishments by the College Board,” said Albert Lea Superintendent Mike Funk. “The work that our staff and students have done to get us to this point is admirable, as we strive to continuously improve.”

National data from 2018 show that among American Indian, Alaska native, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of those students to participate is to give them access, the release states. Courses must be made available, gatekeeping must stop and doors must be equitably opened. Albert Lea Area Schools is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

“Success in advanced placement is a combination of students’ own motivation and the opportunities educators provide for them,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and instruction at College Board. “I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators in this district who have worked to clear a path for more students of all backgrounds to earn college credit during high school.”

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.

In 2018, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement or both, and/or consideration in the admissions process. Inclusion in the ninth annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2016 to 2018, looking across 38 AP exams, including world language and culture. The following criteria were used.

Districts must:

• Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts

• Increase or maintain the percentage of American Indian, Alaska native, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increase or maintain the percentage of American Indian, Alaska native, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander students scoring 3-plus on at least one AP Exam

• Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2018 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2016 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population in which 30 percent or more are underrepresented minority students (American Indian, Alaska native, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander) and/or 30 percent or more are low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.

The complete ninth annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at apcentral.collegeboard.org/score-reports-data/awards/honor-roll.

Albert Lea Area Schools currently offers the following AP courses: U.S. government and politics, English language and composition, macroeconomics, psychology, biology and calculus AB.