197% Increase In Lubbock!
March 1, 2013
Great article in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal - Advanced Placement courses on the rise in South Plains which is not something you see every day. But due to the incredible work of NMSI's AP Program they had a 197% increase in AP participation over the last two years. Texas has seen a 122% increase in AP over the past decade according to the article
"Sharp, the district’s director of communications and community relations, said prior to 2010, students who took AP courses were “self-selected” and paid the cost for the exam.
In 2010, the district began paying the cost for the exams in math, science and English language arts, she said.
“In addition, we have been in a partnership with the Helen Jones and CH Foundations to pay for teacher training and to pay students $100 for each qualifying score they earn,” she said.
At Frenship High School, the number of students taking AP courses has more than doubled from 60 in 2008 to 141 in 2012. Those students took 195 exams, reflecting the fact that one student can take multiple AP courses.
Students at Frenship take AP courses in calculus, chemistry, English language and composition, English literature and composition, physics, Spanish language and U.S. history.
“With the increased emphasis on college readiness throughout the state, the increase in the number of students taking an AP exam as well as the increase in those students scoring a 3 or more is clear evidence of the fact that what the local schools are doing is, in fact, working,” Frenship High Principal Kim Spicer said.
In 2012, Laying the Foundation and AP Strategies merged with National Math and Science Initiative to create an amazing group of talented educators focused on transforming schools and teaching!