Cherokee, Creekview, Sequoyah Named AP Honor Schools

CANTON, GA -- All six of the Cherokee County School District's high schools have been recognized for their "outstanding" Advanced Placement programs, the system said Tuesday.

Each of Cherokee County's six traditional high schools has earned recognition from the Georgia Department of Education as a 2017 AP Honor School for commendable student performance and participation on AP exams.

CCSD’s high schools all have been named to the State’s AP Honor List each of the last seven years.

“This recognition is a testament to the extraordinary dedication of our AP students and teachers,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower said. “We are so proud of these students for challenging themselves with these rigorous courses and equally impressed by our AP teachers’ ability to successfully instruct them on a college level. These courses can earn college credit for our students, which we know their parents appreciate, but they also expand their knowledge and, as research shows, better prepare them for college and career success.”

Schools can earn AP Honor School recognition in as many as six categories.

CCSD high schools earned recognition in all four categories for which its schools were eligible. All of CCSD’s high schools continued their presence on the AP STEM Schools and AP STEM Achievement Schools lists, with all for the first time being named AP Humanities Schools (an increase from four schools last year) and four schools won a place on the Merit School list (an increase from three schools last year).

AP Merit Schools are those with at least 20 percent of the student population taking AP exams and at least 50 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher. There are 69 Merit Schools in Georgia for 2017.

• Creekview High School
• Etowah High School
• River Ridge High School
• Woodstock High School

AP STEM Schools: institutions with students testing in at least two AP math courses and two AP science courses (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science A). There are 204 AP STEM Schools in Georgia for 2017.

• Cherokee High School
• Creekview High School
• Etowah High School
• River Ridge High School
• Sequoyah High School
• Woodstock High School

AP STEM Achievement Schools: those with students testing in at least two AP math courses and two AP science courses, and at least 40 percent of the exam scores on AP math and AP science exams earning scores of 3 or higher. There are 128 AP STEM Achievement Schools in Georgia for 2017.

• Cherokee High School
• Creekview High School
• Etowah High School
• River Ridge High School
• Sequoyah High School
• Woodstock High School

AP Humanities Schools: schools with students testing in all of the following AP courses: at least one ELA course, two social sciences courses, one fine arts course and one world language course. There are 149 AP Humanities Schools in Georgia for 2017.

• Cherokee High School
• Creekview High School
• Etowah High School
• River Ridge High School
• Sequoyah High School
• Woodstock High School

The Cherokee County School District was one of 10 in Georgia recently named to the national AP District Honor Roll in 2016, its fourth consecutive year to earn national distinction for its AP participation and achievement.

With a passage rate of 70 percent among the 4,784 tests administered in the spring of 2016, Cherokee County exceeds the state average of 58 percent and the national average of 57 percent.

AP courses and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP courses are one of several ways Georgia students can access college-level learning opportunities while in high school. Students who receive a 3, 4, or 5 on AP exams are often eligible to receive college credit.

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