More Howard County public high school students took Advanced Placement tests this year, although the percentage of test-takers who scored high enough to earn college credit dropped slightly.
This year, 5,333 tests were taken by 2,574 students in the county, compared to 4,885 tests taken by 2,404 students in 2006, said Terry Alban, the school system?s executive director of strategic planning, assessment and program evaluation.
Seventy-eight percent of the scores were a 3 or above, compared to 79 percent last year, she said.
“I think there?s certainly a growing awareness of what the test can do for you,” Alban said, about results just received by the school system.
AP test scores range from 1 to 5, the highest. A score of 3 is typically acceptable for students who want to earn college credit for that course, but sometimes a 4 is necessary, she said.
“Colleges set their own rules, and it depends on the content areas and what the student will major in,” Alban said.
Atholton High School in Columbia had both the highest percentage of students in the county who earned both a 3 and above (91 percent) and a 4 and above (61 percent).
“We?re very pleased with the scores and took the opportunity to commend our teachers,” said Principal Marcia Leonard.
Another high performer in the county was River Hill High School in Clarksville, which had 392 students take 888 tests, the second-highest in the county to Centennial High, with 430 test-takers and 1,001 tests taken.
River High Principal William Ryan and Leonard both said students? potential for AP success could be somewhat estimated from their performance on the Preliminary SAT.
