Four high schools in country's best

AP exam participation is high

Friday, June 18, 2010

Four Charles County public high schools were listed this week on Newsweek's America's Best High Schools list based on statistics from the 2008-09 school year.

According to Newsweek magazine, La Plata, Maurice J. McDonough, North Point and Westlake high schools are ranked among the top 6 percent of high schools in the country, and Maryland public schools are listed as No. 1 in the nation in college-level courses.

The rankings were based on the number of Advanced Placement tests taken during the 2008-09 school year in relation to the number of seniors who graduated. For schools to be listed in the top 6 percent, they had to have the same number of seniors graduating as tests taken, according to a press release from Charles County Public Schools.

"Our big push is to get kids to take more challenging courses and to take more rigorous courses through the whole school system," Charles County Superintendent of Schools James E. Richmond said.

While four county high schools made the list, it has been a continuing effort to encourage students to take the highest level classes that they can succeed in, Richmond said.

It is not the first time most of these schools have been featured on Newsweek's Best High Schools list. La Plata, McDonough and Westlake have been listed multiple times.

Having had only one graduating senior class, this is North Point's first time being featured on the list.

Schools officials attributed their success to letting the students know ahead of time what is expected of them in AP courses.

"It's an expectation that you will take the test. It is explained the very first week of school," McDonough Principal Jervie Petty said.

But she added that most of the students opt to take the test because they understand the reason why they are in the class in the first place — to earn college credit.

At Westlake, students sign a contract with their parents and the teachers agreeing that they will take the test, Principal Chrystal Benson said.

In addition to individual school programs, the county also offers the Scholars Targeting Academic Rigor with Success, or STARS, program to encourage rising ninth-graders to enroll in challenging courses, Richmond said. This is done by laying out all four years of high school for them and their parents ahead of time so they understand what will be expected of them and that it will be a rigorous four years.

"I think that lays a good foundation for the high schools," Richmond said.

He added that because of the countywide initiative, he expects more schools to be listed on the Newsweek Best High Schools list in the future.

"Our kids can do it. We need to demand it. That's what the schools are doing," Richmond said.

As for schools already on the list, they are looking to help more students earn credit for college in the future.

"Next year we're looking for even more threes, fours and fives," Benson said, referring to the five-point grading system AP tests use, five being the highest score.

Although the results of the most recent graduating class will not be available until next year, school officials are sure they will be just as, if not more, successful than this year.

"They work hard all year long and it just demonstrates that we hold all kids to high academic standards and we encourage all kids to push themselves to meet their potential," La Plata Principal Evelyn Arnold said.

kgrace@somdnews.com