Milford Public Schools Named to The College Board’s AP District Honor Roll

Written by Kathryn Bonetti, Milford Public Schools spokeswoman

MILFORD, CT — The Milford Public School district has been named to The College Board’s 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll, based on significant gains in providing access to and for student success in the Advanced Placement (AP) Program.

Milford is one of 13 public school districts across Connecticut to receive the honor this year. To be given the distinction, districts had to increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher, documented over a 3-year period.

This designation acknowledges the Milford Public School district is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds. In 2016, the district administered more than 1,200 AP exams to students at the high school level with 60% of those receiving a score of 3 or higher.

Dr. Elizabeth Feser, Superintendent of the Milford Public Schools, was very pleased with the announcement. “The district has made a concerted effort to increase access to AP courses for a wider range of students while maintaining high expectations for those courses. Our students not only are embracing the opportunity to learn material at a deep level, but also are demonstrating their ability to succeed in internationally recognized college level classes. The program has provided a real benefit to our district.”

Trevor Packer, the College Board’s head of AP and Instruction commented, “Teachers and administrators are delivering real opportunity in their schools and classrooms, and students are rising to the challenge.”

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. According to The College Board, many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.

In 2016, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, or both, and/or consideration in the admission process.

Inclusion on the 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data (from 2014 to 2016). The following criteria were used.

Districts must:

§ Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts, at least 6 % in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;

§ Increase or maintain the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students who scored 3+ on at least one AP Exam; and

§ Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2016 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2014 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

The complete 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found here:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/score_reports_data/awards/232608.html