D218 builds on decade-plus growth in AP

Despite the destabilizing effects of a pandemic, District 218 this past year continued to build upon the growth and success in Advanced Placement that date back more than a decade.

More than a quarter of the graduating class of 2021 earned college credit while still enrolled in high school through AP; for the Class of 2022, projections show that 50 percent of those students will have a chance for college credit by taking an AP class while they were in high school.

District 218 students set a new record for AP exams taken. The number rose from 1,698 in 2019-2020 to 2,137 in 2020-2021.

This matters: District administrators and teachers encourage students to believe in their abilities, embrace academic challenge, and enroll in AP courses.

Growth happened despite the pandemic and its well-documented effects on learning environments and mental health.

Due to COVID-19, many students learned remotely full-time. This affected exam pass rates across the nation.

While students could take some exams in the traditional pencil-and-paper format, The College Board provided some exams on-line; for some subject areas, however, the organization did not offer the opportunity to take exams.

“Overall COVID-19 had a significant impact on AP testing and clearly kept many students from testing. Due to a lack of a digital option for some exams some students were unable to take their AP exams,” District 218 Director of Assessment Anthony Corsi said.

After a decade of growth in AP enrollment, the upward trend surged in 2019-2020 when District 218 partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools to recruit more students of color. This decision proved pivotal.

Between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, the number of Black students enrolled in AP courses increased from 129 to 305. Likewise, the number of Latino students enrolled in AP courses grew from 327 to 622.

Overall in District 218, the number of students enrolled in AP courses increased from 909 to 1,675 between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

District 218 had planned to refine its outreach and retention efforts in 2020-2021, but the disruption from COVID-19 altered that plan.

Instead, EOS advised District 218 on modifying course content to adjust to on-line teaching, the heightened emotional needs of students, and the restrictions of social distancing. EOS and District 218 also administered a student survey.

Results informed the development of “Insight Cards” for individual students that address career aspirations, career goals, and other information.

Counselors and teachers will employ the survey results this year in their efforts to build on the success in recruiting and retaining students of color.