Greene County High School students made significant gains on the College Board’s Advanced Placement course tests in 2022, showing a six-point gain in the percentage of students earning a qualifying score of at least three on the exams over 2019, the last year before the COVID pandemic.
Among four AP tests administered at GCHS in both 2019 and 2022, 25 percent of students taking tests qualified for college credit, compared to 19 percent in 2019.
Performance was particularly strong on the AP Spanish Language and Culture and AP English Literature and Composition tests. In AP Spanish, 60% of the students scored at least three on the exam, which is equal to the national percentage.
In AP Literature, 40% of the students made at least a qualifying score. Aiden Turner, who was a 2022 Governor’s Honors Program Finalist, has also been selected as a College Board National Recognition Program awardee, receiving the National African American Recognition Award and the National Rural and Small Town Award for his excellent performance on this year’s AP exams.
The College Board, which develops and scores the AP tests each year, assigns a score between one and five. A score of three or higher indicates the student is “qualified,” “well qualified,” or “extremely well qualified.” Although colleges assign credit based on their own criteria, many colleges will award college credit for a three or higher, and a score of four or five often will earn students two-course credits.
“An excellent AP program can get students college credit, which is great,” said GCHS Principal Eddie Hood. “But the real value of the program is that the courses are rigorous.
Students who did not make a qualifying score will still go to college far better prepared than if they had not taken the course.”
“GCHS’s AP program growth took off under previous Principal James Peek’s leadership and the dedicated work of AP Coordinator Mariana Mansfield,” principal Hood continued, “and we are proud to continue building on their legacy of inspiring students to challenge themselves and achieve great success.”
Not only was performance higher, but also overall participation was dramatically higher in 2022 over 2019. Last year saw a more than 25% increase in the number of tests administered.
“Not only are we seeing the performance increase, but we are seeing overall participation go up,” said Superintendent Chris Houston. “More students are doing better in everything they do. That’s great news for everybody.”
In 2021, GCHS received the “AP Expansion Award” from the Georgia Department of Education. This award was given to schools that saw a 25% growth in AP student participation from May 2020 to May 2021 and a minimum of 25 students testing in May 2020.
For the 2022-2023 school year, GCHS is offering the following AP courses: AP Language & Composition; AP Biology; AP Human Geography; AP World History; AP U.S. History; AP Macro-Economics; AP Art Studio 2-D; and AP Spanish Language & Culture.