NEW YORK — On Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 12,and 13, 2011, Polk County Public Schools will be honored as a College Board 2011 Advanced Placement® Equity and Excellence District of the Year for being the nation’s leader, among large school districts, in simultaneously expanding access to Advanced Placement (AP®) courses and improving AP Exam performance. Polk County has the added distinction of achieving the largest increase of any school district in the country in the number of traditionally underrepresented minority students earning a score of 3 or better on at least one AP Exam. Polk County students, teachers, district and school administrators, and College Board executives will celebrate these achievements during a two-day AP Summit, during which they will discuss strategies to further enhance the AP Program and prepare even more students for success in college and the global workforce.
"Polk County Public Schools have defied expectations by expanding student access to AP, while improving scores," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "Great achievements such as these are the result of years of hard work and innovation. By using new strategies and initiatives, these dedicated teachers and administrators have enabled a new generation of students to reach their full academic potential."
Winning Statistics:
Between 2009 and 2011 Polk County Public Schools were able to:
- Increase student participation in AP by 19 percent — from 3,365 to 4,802 students — without any decreases in the rate at which students earned scores of 3 or higher.
- Increase the representation of traditionally underserved minority students (African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native) participating in the AP Program from 28 percent to 31 percent of the total AP student population.
"Our teachers have worked tirelessly to increase rigor in their classes, and to coach and support students who had never experienced an AP course before," said Sherrie B. Nickell, superintendent of Polk County Public Schools. "We intentionally sought out capable students (including those from underrepresented populations) for this initiative. We knew there were many with great potential, but who had not yet been stretched academically to meet the demands of the challenging AP course work."
Much of Polk’s success can be attributed to the introduction of a rigorous curriculum in its middle schools and high schools. In 2010, Polk County started using SpringBoard® English Language Arts and Mathematics to teach critical thinking and problem solving skills in grades six through eight. Polk instituted SpringBoard in its secondary school program this past fall — where SpringBoard is now utilized by 15 of 39 high schools. The district plans to expand the program to all high schools in the near future.
"We applaud Polk County’s outstanding achievements. This large, diverse school district stands as a model to be emulated," said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and College Readiness. "Polk has proven that by teaching critical thinking and problem solving strategies in early grades, they can provide many more students with the tools they need to succeed in college."
Polk County Public Schools was one of three districts selected from the 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll[1] to receive the College Board 2011 Advanced Placement Equity and Excellence District of the Year Award. The other two winning districts — one medium-sized district and one small — will be announced in the near future. All three winning districts will be honored again at a celebratory plenary session at the AP Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, on July 20, 2012.
Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective shared by all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to expand access and improve student performance simultaneously.
About the Advanced Placement Program
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Through more than 30 college-level courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought the most rigorous curriculum available to them. Each AP teacher’s syllabus is evaluated and approved by college faculty from some of the nation’s leading institutions, and AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers. AP is accepted by more than 3,800 colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. This includes over 90 percent of four-year institutions in the United States. In 2010, 1.8 million students representing more than 17,000 schools around the world, both public and nonpublic, took 3.2 million AP Exams.
About the College Board
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.
Media Contact:
Deborah Davis The College Board 212-713-8052 communications@collegeboard.org
[1] The 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll includes 367 districts from across the U.S. and Canada that achieved the rare accomplishment of having expanded the number of students participating in AP courses and exams without seeing any decreases in the rate at which their students earned AP scores of 3 or higher.