Washington and Kennedy Tops in State
for Advanced Placement Participation
Washington High School in Cedar Rapids has become the state's first public school to achieve the No. 1 ranking on the "Iowa Advanced Placement Index for the Top 50 Schools."
The index, developed by the University of Iowa College of Education's Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, assesses AP participation among public and private schools in Iowa. Each school is given an index score based on the ratio of AP exams taken by all its students divided by the number of its graduating seniors.
A score of 1.00 means the number of AP exams for a school equals the number of graduates. Ten schools achieved or surpassed this standard this year, up from eight last year.
In the latest index, George Washington earned the top score of 2.21; John F. Kennedy High School, another public high school in Cedar Rapids, came in second with a score of 1.73. The other schools in the top five are Regina High School (a private school), Iowa City; West High School (a public school), Iowa City; and Ames High School (a public school).
“This is an incredible accomplishment for both Washington and Kennedy and the result of an appreciable amount of work on the part of students, parents, faculty and administration,” noted Dr. Dave Markward, Superintendent. “I tip my hat to everyone involved!”
The Belin-Blank Center developed the index five years ago as part of a broader effort to encourage and recognize Iowa schools that provide high-level academic opportunities for high school students. The index is designed to give a fair comparison of AP opportunity across Iowa schools.
Advanced Placement exams cover 37 subject areas, and exams are scored on a scale of one to five, with five considered top-level work (a grade equivalent of an "A") in a corresponding college course. A score of three or better is often accepted for either college credit or placement.
The 2009 Iowa AP Index is based on the AP exams taken in May 2008 and seniors graduating in May/June 2008. In 2007-08, there were 383 (356 public and 27 nonpublic) accredited high schools according to the Iowa Department of Education. Of these 383 accredited high schools, 211 (196 public and 15 nonpublic), or 55 percent of schools, had at least one student take an AP exam in 2008. Of these 211 accredited Iowa high schools that had at least one student take an AP exam in 2008, 95 percent (201 schools; 186 public and 15 nonpublic) agreed to participate in the 2009 Iowa AP Index.
The statistics for graduating seniors were provided by the Iowa Department of Education, and the College Board provided the statistics for the AP exams.
The top 50 schools range in graduating class size from 15 to 559. There are 40 public and 10 private schools in the top 50. To view the latest index of the top 50 schools based on May 2008 testing visit http://www.iowaapindex.org/top50.html.
For more information on the 2009 Iowa AP Index visit http://www.iowaapindex.org/.
In 2008, Iowa students ranked sixth in the nation, with 67 percent of its students scoring at a level of 3 or better on the AP exams.
Nationally, in May 2008, more than 1.5 million high school students took more than 2.6 million AP exams. AP allows students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. More than 3,000 colleges and universities accept AP exam scores for either college credit or placement in higher-level courses.