A graphic displays Advanced Placement Honor school categories under which Clarke County School District high schools were named. In total, Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods named 255 Georgia schools as AP Honor Schools under the College Board’s requirements. Graphic by Audrey Enghauser
Many US public schools, including Clarke Central High School, were recently distinguished under various categories of Advanced Placement classes and achievement.
On Feb. 6, the College Board released data about the academic standings of US public high schools, honoring Clarke Central High School under various distinctions.
This year, both Cedar Shoals High School and CCHS were recognized as Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools: schools that met certain criteria regarding districtwide AP participation. CCHS also fit the requirements to be named an AP School of Distinction, AP Humanities Achievement School, AP STEM School and an AP Stem Achievement School.
“It is the district’s mission to build a culture of high expectations and equity in which all students grow. I am pleased to see our students and our schools recognized for their accomplishments,” Clarke County School District Interim Superintendent Dr. Xernona Thomas said in a CCSD press release.
Additionally, Georgia’s public school class of 2019 has the 17th highest AP passing rate in the United States, with 43.7% of test takers scoring a three or above on their exams.
“Behind this recognition is an enormous amount of hard work, and I congratulate all those who worked to expand access, improve performance, and build strong Advanced Placement programs in each school recognized today,” Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a Georgia Department of Education press release.
According to the press release, states utilize the amount of students using AP exam fee reductions as a basis to measure AP participation equity among low-income students.
“I’m also pleased to see the gains made by economically disadvantaged students in Georgia, as we work to ensure all students receive an excellent education,” Woods said. “Ultimately, our goal is to provide rich opportunities for every student in our state – from advanced coursework like AP to the fine arts, world languages, career exploratory courses and more.”
According to CCHS senior Rosie Sykes, students who continue to enroll in AP classes will benefit from the rigor.
“I like that (AP classes are) challenging, because it kind of pushes me harder in those classes, it pushes me harder to focus and pushes me harder (to) study,” Sykes said. “I feel like there are a lot of people who could challenge themselves and even go to a (better) college just from taking APs.”
