Three Floyd County high schools were among a select group of 276 high schools across the state honored by State School Superintendent Richard Woods as he announced the 2024 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools.
Coosa High was honored as an AP Access and Support and AP Expansion School. Model High was honored as an AP Challenge School and AP STEM School, while Pepperell High School was honored as an AP Challenge School and AP Expansion School.
AP classes offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school. AP classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. Students receiving a score of 3, 4, or 5 on an AP exam may receive college credit.
AP Access and Support Schools are schools with at least 30% of AP exams taken by students who identified as African American and/or Hispanic (minimum of 16 students) and 30% of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher. At least 25 exams must be administered.
AP Challenge Schools are small high schools of fewer than 900 students offering the AP advanced courses in the core subject areas of English, math, science, and social studies.
AP Expansion Schools are schools with 25% growth in AP student participation from May 2022 to May 2023 and a minimum of 25 students testing in May 2022.
AP STEM Schools are schools with a minimum of five students testing in at least four AP STEM courses. (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles).
“I am very proud of our teachers and students who are a part of our AP programs across our entire system,” stated Dr. Glenn White, Floyd County Schools (FCS) Superintendent. “We have some of the best AP teachers in the state and these recognitions reinforce the fact that our schools bring an academically challenging environment, encouraging our students to go above and beyond. We are very proud of these recognitions, and all of the hard work and accomplishments that happen each and every day in our school system.”
FCS is one of the area leaders in AP offerings for students with 20 AP courses available in the four high schools as well as AP Capstone, where students from all four high schools have had great success.
Floyd County high schools have regularly earned AP honors for the last several years. The system made the commitment to be a leader in AP courses offered to students with the move to a more extensive offering of advanced courses with the introduction of the system’s honors program in the fall of 2002. This advanced program of study for students in FCS is among the top college-preparatory programs in Northwest Georgia. The comprehensive, rigorous, advanced program of study is designed to prepare students for the most demanding college or university.
“Our schools have worked diligently to expand AP course offerings and opportunities to our students,” said McCall Govignon, FCS Director of Advanced Programs and Assessment. “We have added new AP courses over the past few years along with offering math and science AP courses at the College and Career Academy. Last year, we administered the highest number of AP Exams we have ever given. We had 414 students in the district that took AP courses, and we gave 804 AP exams last spring. 59% of our AP students earned college credit. We are extremely proud of all of the hard work and dedication from our AP students and AP teachers. This is a valuable program to make sure our students are ready for the rigor of college.”
The expansion of AP class offerings was a major component in raising the level of academic opportunities available to students in Floyd County. Higher-level academic opportunities help teens prepare for success at the nation’s top colleges and universities.
For a full release from the GaDOE, please click here.
