Oconee County Schools Named to the College Board AP District Honor Roll

Oconee County Schools has been named to the College Board Advanced Placement District Honor Roll.

The school district is one of 367 across 45 states in the U.S. and six provinces in Canada to earn the distinction.  Two other Georgia school districts were recognized: Calhoun City Schools and City Schools of Decatur. But Oconee County Schools is the only district from Georgia that has achieved the honor roll for years 2011 and 2012, according to data from the College Board.

The recognition is given to school districts that simultaneously increased access to AP courses while maintaining or improving the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP exam, according to a news release.

Advanced Placement classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. These classes offer rigorous, college-level learning options to high school students. Students who receive a 3, 4, or 5 on AP exams may receive college credit.

“Our high schools have made a significant commitment to AP excellence and we’re honored to receive this special recognition,” said Superintendent John Jackson said in a released statement. “It really says something about the hard work of our students and staff to make this list for a second consecutive time. Our students come to school well prepared, and our teachers take great pride in being ready to appropriately challenge them.”

Inclusion on the Second Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria:

1) Examination of three years of AP data, from 2009 to 2011;

2) 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;

3) A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students; and

4) Performance levels maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of students in 2011 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2009, 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.

At a School Board meeting in July, Jackson said , and the school district’s average score last year was 3.31, surpassing both a state average of 2.74 and the national average of 2.84. Oconee students were tested in 24 subjects.

“Our students did phenomenal,” Jackson said at the meeting. “We’ve got more students than ever enrolled in AP classes and they are doing great.”