More students taking AP courses in St. Mary's schools

Higher number score at level to qualify for college credit

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009

A total of 999 students took at least one AP course last year in the St Mary's County's three public high schools, nearly 100 more than the previous year.

Over the last several years there has been a push to offer more AP classes and have more students take them. Students can earn college credit from exam scores.

St. Mary's high schools use a program called AP Potential to analyze student achievement data through PSAT results given to all sophomores and juniors. This helps determine which students have the ability to succeed in an AP class.

Schools are also finding other ways to increase enrollment, including recruiting former AP students as ambassadors for the college-level courses.

Scott Smith, director of secondary instruction, administration and school improvement, said that he is now "seeing all three schools with a similar perception about AP," as the three high school principals strive to get as many students as possible to take AP courses.

Smith said that students in honors classes last school year were automatically enrolled in AP courses this year.

"We pre-scheduled them directly into an AP course," Smith said.

Many of those students would realize the advanced course is a good fit for them, he said.

"A strong AP program means a strong SAT program," Chopticon Principal Garth Bowling said. "You can't really separate them … As time goes on this will have a powerful impact on SAT."

Bowling took over as principal of Chopticon in the summer of 2008 with a goal of increasing the number of students taking rigorous classes. He started after most high school schedules were already set for the school year, but was still able to convince some students to change their schedule to take more AP classes.

"I was able to get the numbers up a little bit with the help of the teaching staff and counselors," he said.

The number of exams administered went from 308 in 2008 to 346 last school year.

Now that he has had a full year to work on the deficit the numbers have doubled, he said.

"We had to educate them and their parents," Bowling said.

Last spring the school hosted an AP information night when former Chopticon students and current AP teachers spoke about the importance of the courses.

"That was very effective," Bowling said. "We've got a little over 700 seats" in AP classes this school year, he said.

Chopticon seniors as well as those from the other two high schools last year visited underclassmen to talk about the benefits of AP courses. Hearing from an older student can be a strong recruitment tool, Bowling said.

Students were also offered several perks to take the classes. Any student who signed up for two or more AP courses was able to take a study period to help with the classes.

Juniors or seniors with two or more AP courses were also given priority parking privileges. Along with the obvious clout that comes with the parking privileges the ability to drive to school also allows students to come early or stay late to get extra help from teachers, Bowling said.

"It was an all-out effort," he said.

Superintendent Michael Martirano commended Bowling for focusing on increasing the number of AP students.

"Rigorous courses are the gatekeeper to college," Martirano said.

"We actually have freshmen taking AP courses this year," Martirano said. And many upperclassman take three, four or even five AP courses in a given year.

As a result of school system efforts to encourage more minority participation in the AP program, the number of African-Americans participating in the program is at an all time high with 92 students taking 132 exams, according to a press release.

Students can opt out of an exam but only with a written request to the school. Otherwise, "Every student is expected to sit for the AP exam," Smith said.

St. Mary's public schools pay for all exams, which cost $86 apiece. Of the 1,628 tests given last school year, 49.4 percent scored a 3 or higher, which is considered a mastery level. Students who receive a score of 3, 4 or 5 on these rigorous exams can receive college credit for the AP course they complete.

The percentage of students who scored 3 or higher on the exams increased even as the number of students and exams given rose last year, a positive trend that Smith expects to continue.

More than half of Leonardtown High School students who took the AP exams scored at three or higher, the highest percentage in the county. Leonardtown had 106 tests score a perfect score of 5, the highest number in the school's history.

"We're very pleased by the effort of both students and faculty," Leonardtown Principal David O'Neill said.

He said the school continues to use counselors along with a number of tools to get more students to take the rigorous college-preparatory courses.

jyeatman@somdnews.com