Westonka Schools Earns Spot on AP District Honor Roll

The Westonka Public School District is one of only 11 districts in Minnesota honored by the College Board with placement on the 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of three or higher on AP Exams.

Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP coursework. A total of 539 school districts across 44 of the 50 states in the United States and Canada received the honor this year.

Between 2007 and 2012, Mound Westonka High School has increased the number of students taking at least one AP exam from 124 students to 183 students, while the number of total exams taken has increased from 165 exams to 278 exams. In addition, the percent of students earning a score of 3 or higher (typically the minimum score to earn college credit) has risen from 56 percent to 71 percent.  More than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S. offer college credit, advanced placement or both for a score of 3 or above on an AP Exam—which can potentially save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition.

“This recognition is testament to our students and families wanting more rigorous courses and our high school staff's commitment to supporting all of our students and their academic work in these courses,” Westonka Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Mark Femrite said. “I cannot be more proud of our students and staff.  This honor is another indication of the high school's commitment to ensuring that all MWHS students are college and career ready."

College Board President David Coleman said, “We applaud the extraordinary efforts of the devoted teachers and administrators in this district, who are fostering rigorous work worth doing. These educators have not only expanded student access to AP coursework, but they have enabled more of their students to achieve on a college level—which is helping to create a strong college-going culture.”

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to expand access and improve student performance simultaneously.

Inclusion on the 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2010 to 2012, for the following criteria:

1. Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts;
2. Ensure that the percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students taking AP Exams did not decrease by more than 5 percent for large and medium districts or by more than 10 percent for small districts;
3. Improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2012 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2010, unless the district has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population made up of 30 percent or more underrepresented minority students (Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native) and/or 30 percent or more low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.