Johnston Community Schools Makes National AP Honor Roll

The mission of Johnston Community School District is to prepare students for the changing world by providing knowledge and skills.

If the latest recognition is any indicator the district is succeeding in that mission.

The Johnston Community School District, for the first time in school history, has been recognized on the College Board's 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll.

“It is an honor for Johnston Community School District to receive the AP Honor Roll designation,” Bruce Amendt, Executive Director of Academic Services, said in a news release. “Our high school staff actively encourages our students to take rigorous courses and strives to provide outstanding learning experiences. Staff is to be commended for their efforts in enabling more student access to AP courses while increasing the percentage of students who are successful on the rigorous end-of-year AP exams.”

The Johnston is one of 11 schools in Iowa and one of 539 districts in the nation to be recognized for opening advanced placement (AP) classroom doors to a significantly broader pool of students, while maintaining or improving the percentage of students earning scores of three or higher - out of a five.

Both goals indicate the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit from the rigorous course work.

Students who complete AP courses can potentially earn college credit at more than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S.

The District Honor Roll is based on on examination of three years of AP data: 2010, 2011, and 2012 data from all students who took AP examinations in May of those years. 

Inclusion on the 3rd Annual AP® District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria:

• Examination of three years of AP data, from 2010 to 2012
• Increase in participation in/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
• A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students
• Performance levels maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of students in 2012 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2010, or the school has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher