Hull High School Makes the Honor Roll!

Hull Public Schools Placed on the College Board’s 2^nd Annual AP^® District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Advanced Placement^® Access and Student Performance

367 School Districts Across the Nation Are Honored

Hull Public Schools is one of fewer than 400 public school districts in the nation being honored by the College Board with a place on the 2^nd Annual AP^® Honor Roll, for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.  Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s Advanced Placement program, because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework.  Since 2009, Hull Public Schools increased the number of students participating in AP from 47 to 82, while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 47% in 2009 to 59% in 2011.  The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams. 

The 2^nd Annual AP Honor Roll is made up of only those public school districts that are simultaneously expanding opportunity and improving performance. The list includes 367 school districts across 43 states and Canada. Pennsylvania led all states with 34 public school districts named to the 2^nd Annual AP Honor Roll, followed by Massachusetts and New York, both with 30.

“Participation in college-level AP courses can level the playing field for underserved students, give them the confidence needed to succeed in college, and raise standards and performance in key subjects like science and math,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “The AP Honor Roll districts are defying expectations by expanding access while enabling their students to maintain or improve their AP Exam scores.”

Many U.S. school districts have focused on expanding access to AP courses as part of a strategy to improve college readiness. These efforts have resulted in more students earning scores of 3 or better.  They have also resulted in more students earning scores of 1 or 2. Accordingly, there has been a slight decline since 2001 in the overall percentage of AP students scoring a 3 or better, a decline that can be expected in any program attracting a much broader cross-section of students.

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 are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to expand access and improve student performance simultaneously.

“This school district has achieved something very remarkable. It managed to open the doors of its AP classrooms to many more students, while also increasing the percentage of students earning high enough AP Exam grades to stand out in the competitive college admission process and qualify for college credit and placement,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and college readiness.