Six Here Are Recognized by College Board
The College Board has released the 2017 Advanced Placement (AP) School Scholar roster and it includes six Jasper County High School (JCHS) students earning AP Scholar Awards.
Amber York, Jace Degarmo, Maximilian Hess, Alina Jablonski, Cole Usry, and Nataleigh Long were all recognized for their exceptional achievement on AP exams for 2017.
The College Board’s AP provides motivated and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school. Students can earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams.
Only 22 percent of the 2.2 million students worldwide who took AP exams performed at a level high enough to earn an AP Scholar Award. AP exams are scored on a 5-point scale with a score of 3 or higher qualifying as a passing score.
The College Board recognizes five levels of achievement based on a student’s performance on AP exams.
AP Scholar with Distinction are students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of the exams. Two recently-graduated seniors share this distinction in 2017.
Jace Degarmo attempted seven AP courses in high school and passed all exams with scores including one 5, four 4’s, and two 3’s. Amber York, also attempted seven AP courses and passed all exams with scores of one 5, four 4’s, and two 3’s.
AP Scholar with Honor is a student who receives an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of the exams. Nataleigh Long, earned four fours on AP exams in high school to earn this high honor, and graduated with an average 3.6 on all attempted AP exams. Nataleigh is a May 2017 graduate of JCHS.
AP Scholar is awarded to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. Maximilian Hess, who graduated in May, has received this award as a result of earning two scores of 3 and two scores of four. Alina Jablonski, a senior at JCHS, has earned two fours and a 3 on her AP exams. Cole Usry, also a senior, has earned one score of four and two scores of three.
State AP Scholar: Granted to the one male and one female student in each state and the District of Columbia with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP exams taken.
National AP Scholar: Granted to students in the U.S. who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
The College Board’s 2017 report for JCHS includes three AP Scholars, one AP Scholars with Honor, and two AP Scholars with Distinction.
JCHS has grown its AP program year after year with more diversified choices for students. Scores for 2017 clearly demonstrate the growth in the AP program with an increase from 28% (2016) to 36%(2017) of AP student exams with passing scores of 3, 4, or 5.
New courses offered in 2016/17, including AP studio art 2-D and computer science Principles, provided students with an opportunity to earn advanced placement credit outside of the core subject areas. This year the high school will add AP biology to the list of AP courses offered.
According to Mrs. Alicia Moore, testing coordinator at JCHS, “We are so proud of our AP program, students, and teachers. The more AP Courses we can offer students, the more chances they have to secure honors on a state and national level.”