Schools
It's Two in a Row for Lakeville Area Public Schools
Lakeville again has been named to the College Board's AP District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Advanced Placement Access and Student Performance.
Lakeville Area Public Schools' effort to provide students with access to Advanced Placement coursework has gained national attention for the second year in a row.
Earlier this month, Lakeville was among 11 districts in Minnesota and 367 nationwide selected to the College Board's AP District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Advanced Placement Access and Student Performance.
Districts earn honor-roll designation for increasing student opportunities to take AP courses while, at the same time, improving exam scores.
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AP courses are classes taken by high school students that can earn them college credit. The courses are designed to be equivalent to undergraduate college classes.
Lakeville is a repeat honoree for the AP Honor Roll, which is in its second year of existence.
Find out what's happening in Lakevillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Other Minnesota districts named for a second time are Eden Prairie and Mankato. On the list for the first time are Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose, Burnsville, Elk River, Mounds View, Orono, Prior Lake-Savage, South Washington County and Wayzata.
“This honor is the result of an intentional strategy to increase access to AP courses by our staff and our Board of Education," says in a Lakeville district press release. “We fully intend to continuously improve our test performance while expanding opportunities for students.”
According to the press release, Lakeville is developing a tradition of improving AP access and scores. Since 2009, Lakeville has increased the number of students participating in AP exams from 914 to 1,034 while improving the percentage of students earning AP test scores of 3 or higher from 78 percent in 2009 to 79 percent this year.
The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams, says the press release.
“Participation in college-level AP courses can level the playing field for underserved students, give them the confidence needed to succeed in college, and raise standards and performance in key subjects like science and math,” College Board President Gaston Caperton says in the press release. “The AP Honor Roll districts are defying expectations by expanding access while enabling their students to maintain or improve their AP exam scores.”
