Lawrence Schools Named To 9th Annual AP Honor Roll

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — The Lawrence Township Public School District is among elite company in North America. It is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada that is being honored by the College Board with placement on the 9th annual AP District Honor Roll.

To be included on the Honor Roll, Lawrence Township Public Schools had to, since 2016, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher.

Reaching these goals shows that this district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP, the district said in its announcement.

“Being recognized on the College Board's 9th annual AP District Honor Roll is a testament to the diligent work of our students, staff and district,” Lawrence Township Superintendent of Schools Ross Kasun said. “I am proud of our work and committed to expanding the availability of AP courses for all of our students.”

National data from 2018 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to more participation among these groups is to give them access, the district said.

“Courses must be made available, gatekeeping must stop, and doors must be equitably opened,” the district said. “Lawrence Township Public Schools are committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

“Success in Advanced Placement is a combination of students’ own motivation and the opportunities educators provide for them,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at the College Board. “I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators in this district who have worked to clear a path for more students of all backgrounds to earn college credit during high school.”

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors, the district said. Many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.

In 2018, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, or both, and/or consideration in the admissions process. Inclusion in the 9th annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2016 to 2018, looking across 38 AP Exams, including world language and culture. The following criteria were used.

Districts must:

• Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts, at least 6% in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;
• Increase or maintain the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students scoring 3+ on at least one AP Exam; and
• Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2018 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2016 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population in which 30 percent or more are underrepresented minority students (American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander) and/or 30 percent or more are low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.

The complete 9th annual AP District Honor Roll can be found here: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/score-reports-data/awards/honor-roll.

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