District 128 Students Excel on AP Exams

and High Schools are known for their high academic standards and high achieving students. The results of the 2011-12 Advanced Placement (AP) exams are in, and are giving District 128 even more good news of which to be proud.

Last spring, the district had its highest number of students in history take AP exams. Those 924 test takers also took the highest number of exams in district history. And, of those 1,948 AP exams, a district record 90.8% earned grades of 3, 4 or 5.

Increasing high performance on the AP exams is a trend in District 128. In the last five years, the number of students taking AP exams at LHS and VHHS has increased 36.9%, the number of AP exams taken has increased 26.6%, and the percentage of students scoring 3 or higher has risen to the current historically high level of 90.8%.

The district continues to increase access to rigorous Advanced Placement college curricula while increasing student success on AP tests. This has been a critical part of the District 128 strategic and school improvement planning efforts.

Last year, the district was one of only 367 U.S. public school districts that simultaneously achieved increases in access to AP courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or improved the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP Exam.

“Our district-record Advanced Placement results are very exciting,” said District 128 Superintendent Prentiss Lea. “We are extremely proud of the outstanding efforts of our students, teachers and administrators in the AP arena.”

Lea also noted that the continued growth in the numbers of District 128 students taking AP classes and earning scores of 3 or higher is a testament to the District’s commitment to provide additional opportunities for all students to benefit from rigorous AP curricula, high-quality teaching and the supports necessary for success.

-  This information was provided by Mary E. Todoric, director of communications for District 128.