Rockingham County Schools are among a select group being honored by the College Board for its academic achievements.
Rockingham County Public Schools is one of fewer than 400 public school districts in the nation being honored by the College Board with a place on the 2nd Annual AP® Honor Roll, for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.
This honor indicates that the Rockingham County school district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework.
Since 2009, the school system increased the number of students participating in AP from 179 to 247 while maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 73 percent in 2009 to 81 percent in 2011.
The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP Exams.
Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Carol Fenn says this is a tremendous accomplishment for both students and teachers.
“Teachers and principals have embarked on the responsibility to provide leadership and advocacy for high school students, and increasing the rigor and course selection for high school students demonstrates vigilance toward those goals. Taking steps to promote and include more AP course choices in our high schools improves the achievement of all students,” said Fenn.
The 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll is made up of only those public school districts that are simultaneously expanding opportunity and improving performance.
The list includes 367 school districts across 43 states and Canada. Pennsylvania led all states with 34 public school districts named to the 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll, followed by Massachusetts and New York, both with 30.
Many U.S. school districts have focused on expanding access to AP courses as part of a strategy to improve college readiness.
While these efforts have resulted in more students earning scores of 3 or better, these efforts also have resulted in more students earning scores of 1 or 2.
There has been a slight decline since 2001 in the percentage of AP students scoring a 3 or better, but officials say this is expected for any program as it attracts a broader and large group of students.
The complete 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at
