Diocese earns spot on AP honor roll

January 9, 2018 Staff Reports | The Catholic Miscellany News, Schools, South Carolina

CHARLESTON—Three South Carolina school districts were honored by the College Board’s AP Honor Roll this year for the high success rate of their high school students in Advanced Placement courses — and the Diocese of Charleston was one of them.

The Catholic diocese, which includes schools across the state, joined the Charleston County School District and the Fort Mill School District on a list of 447 districts in the U.S. and Canada to make the AP honor roll.

To earn a coveted spot, schools had to increase their enrollment in AP courses, while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher on the 5-point exam.

The diocesan Office of Education noted that attaining these goals shows that Catholic schools in the state are successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP.

“We are exceedingly proud of the recognition of the work of our schools to ensure that all students who choose a Catholic education are provided with the opportunity to succeed,” said Sandra Leatherwood, superintendent of Catholic schools.

This is the first time that the Dio­cese of Charleston has made the AP honor roll.

The Charleston County School District made the grade once before, in 2013; and the Fort Mill School District was on it from 2010-13 and again last year.

School districts on the honor roll had to meet the following criteria:

  • 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+ on at least one AP Exam; and
  • Improve or maintain perfor­mance levels when comparing the 2017 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2015 percent­age, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students earned a 3 or higher.

Image: Ryan McGilchrist, https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinealight/2220267854/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45558699

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