Warwick Valley School District earns place on the College Board's AP® District Honor Roll

Warwick is among 367 schools recognized for making gains in student performance Warwick — Warwick Valley School Board announced this week that the district is being honored by the College Board 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. Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s Advanced Placement program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework According to the district’s press release announcing the recognition, school officials said that since 2009, the Warwick Valley School District increased the number of students participating in AP from 243 to 290 while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher from 79 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. “Our efforts to increase AP participation and performance began a few years ago when we started to integrate AP curricular activities into courses students could take during their pre-AP years,” High School Principal Richard Linkens said. “The work these 9th and 10th grade teachers do establishes the foundation upon which the teachers of AP classes can build. The District’s continued commitment to professional development and training makes this accomplishment truly a team effort. We now look to improve each year.” The second 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 honor roll, followed by Massachusetts and New York, both with 30. “This recognition supports the Board of Education’s strategic plan for increased academic rigor at the high school and for more participation in AP courses, honors courses and Senior Project,” said Dr. Raymond Bryant, Superintendent of Warwick Schools. “The recent naming of WVHS students Sarah Angle, Thomas Keane and Daniel Kim as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and Timothy Beyer, Pavel Gorelov and Emma Tomko as National Merit Scholarship Commended students should also be celebrated.” Criteria Inclusion on the second annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria: Examination of three years of AP data, from 2009 to 2011. 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. A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students. 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. The complete second annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at www.collegeboard.org.