Ankeny Schools Honored for Increased Number of AP Students

An Ankeny Schools News Release

The Ankeny school district is one of 539 schools districts across 44 states and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the third annual AP® District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams.

Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP course work.  

Since 2010, Ankeny has increased the number of students participating in AP from 234 to 323 while increasing the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or more by at least 1 percent, according to a district news release. More than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S. offer college credit, advanced placement or both for a score of 3 or above on an AP Exam — which can potentially save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition.

"I am very proud of our students and staff in our Advanced Placement Program," said Dr. Bruce A. Kimpston, superintendent of Ankeny Schools. "The AP program is an integral part of our curriculum, one on which we will continue to place an increased focus in the future."

"This is a reflection on both the wonderful instructors we have at AHS who strive to help students, and the students who push themselves in rigorous pursuits in order to be best prepared for a lifetime of personal success after high school," said Ankeny High School Principal Dr. Jeff Hawkins. "We have been very strategic over the past few years to enhance opportunities to take Advanced Placement coursework, as well as to maintain the culture of high expectations and high levels of student achievement in these courses."

Ankeny Community School District was one of only 11 school districts in Iowa to be named to the list. Inclusion on the 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2010 to 2012, for the following criteria:

Districts must:

• 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;
• Ensure that the percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students taking AP Exams did not decrease by more than 5 percent for large and medium districts or by more than 10 percent for small districts;
• Improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2012 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2010, unless the district has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

The complete 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found here.