Huntington on College Board AP Honor Roll

The Huntington School District has landed on the College Board’s 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll, a list of 477 districts across the United States and Canada that are being honored for increasing student access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.

Huntington is one of only three Suffolk, seven Long Island and 27 New York school districts on the College Board’s AP Honor Roll. “Data from 2013 show that among African American, Hispanic, and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students are participating because their schools do not always offer the AP course for which they have potential,” according to the College Board. “These 477 districts are committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.”

“We have made a concerted effort to remove any obstacles and to encourage all students to challenge themselves with more rigorous coursework,” Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “With respect to Advanced Placement courses, we have worked diligently to increase access and, as importantly, teachers are dedicated to providing the means for every student to flourish throughout the year and on the summative Advanced Placement exam.  It is often a matter of building confidence and reminding a student that he or she can meet with success. Students and their teachers are to be commended for their hard work and commitment.”

According to the US Census Bureau, America “has more than 14,000 public school districts and spends more than $500 billion on public elementary and secondary education each year (combined spending of federal, state, and local governments).”

Districts qualified for the 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll following an examination of three years of their AP data for the period of 2011 to 2013 based upon the following criteria:

·   Increased participation/access to AP by at least four percent in large districts, at least six percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts;

·   Increased or maintained the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students, and;

·   Improved performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2013 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2011, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

Huntington has worked hard to increase participation in its Advanced Placement program while maintaining a high level of achievement on the exams. “Reaching these goals indicates that these districts are successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit from rigorous AP course work,” according to the College Board. “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. Many districts are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to simultaneously expand access and improve student performance.”