Cleveland High School AP Scores Increase

  • Thursday, July 21, 2016
AP Environmental Science students in the field with teacher Jeannie Cuervo
AP Environmental Science students in the field with teacher Jeannie Cuervo

The 2016 Advanced Placement scores are back, and Cleveland High School is celebrating extraordinary gains, said officials.  In the fall of 2014, both the desire to offer a quality AP program for advanced students and a visit to the state’s LEAD Conference sparked CHS Principal Autumn O’Bryan and her team to set out a plan to increase AP achievement.  

The focused approach included (1) increasing AP offerings to 9th and 10th graders, (2) expanding offerings based on student interest, (3) raising the percentage of students scoring a 3, 4, or 5, and (4) producing more ‘AP Scholars’ was implemented.

After reports and scores were released by the College Board, Cleveland High School can celebrate success across the board, said officials.  Highlights of this year’s data include expansion of the AP selection from nine to 12 courses, a test administration count of 456 exams - doubling from 206 the previous year, and over triple the number of AP Scholars at 20 students including six with Honor and two with Distinction, recognitions not previously earned in the history of CHS.  

Graduate Alec Shirer explained the impact of the school’s program this way: “Taking AP courses at Cleveland High School did more than just give me a chance to earn college credit.  The rigor of both the courses and the tests helped prepare me for the classes I will take in college, and the high-quality teachers who taught the classes stretched my thinking in directions and magnitude that I didn’t think would be possible.” 

All in all, the numbers tell a story of administration, teachers, and students working together to increase rigor and expectations and expanding the reach of the Advanced Placement program.  

One example was a first-year offering of AP World Geography to 9th graders.  While nervous about how well young students would perform under such demanding curriculum, teacher John Brose was more than pleased to see 69 percent of his students scored a 3 or better, well exceeding the national average of 52 percent.  “I’m extremely proud of how my students performed on the AP Human Geography exam,” said Mr. Brose.  “I cannot thank them enough for all of the hard work that they put in throughout the semester.  This class really challenged them, but they stayed the course and kept on working to understand the content and the AP process.  I have no doubt that this group of students will continue to do great things throughout the remainder of their CHS careers and beyond.”  

Almost all other AP courses saw similar results, reaching closer to state, national, and global averages.  

In another start-up course, AP German Language and Culture, all three students scored 3 or higher in the inaugural year.  Carole Dale, teacher for the course, reflected, “As a first time teacher of the AP German course, I point with great pride to a small group of students who dedicated themselves to the task of persevering in order to learn German at the advanced level. Together, we spent many hours inside and outside the classroom to accomplish the goal of proficiency at the AP level.” 

The College Board recognizes superior achievement among students that take the AP test using the titles ‘AP Scholar’ (scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams), ‘AP Scholar with Honor’ (average score of at least 3.25 with none below 3 on four or more AP exams), and ‘AP Scholar with Distinction’ (average score of at least 3.5 with none below 3 on five or more AP exams).  

‘AP Scholars’ from Cleveland High School for 2016 are Alexis Engelvin-Grezes, William Estes, Kellee Geren, Jacob Griffin, Graham Hammond, Kile Kim, Mark Mentsevich, Jackson Millard, Amanda Shifley, Thomas Stillwell, Matthew Witz, and Linda Zheng.  ‘AP Scholars with Honor’ are Sarah Barnette, Rachel Coats, Suzanna Liner, Alexander Schroder, William Shirer, and Pengda Xie.  ‘AP Scholars with Distinction’ are Julia Goncalves and Peyton Snyder.

Students aren’t the only ones reveling in the success.  As Mrs. O’Bryan explains, “It is our goal for Cleveland High School students to be competitive nationally and globally.  These scores represent hard work and tenacity by our students and teachers.  We raised the bar for our students, and they far exceeded our expectations.  We expect even more opportunities for our advanced students in the future.”  

Her team of administrators, guidance counselors, and especially AP teachers each put in the training and time necessary for such a great improvement.  They include Brad Self (Statistics), Jeanie Cuervo (Environmental Science), Ben Cantrell (Chemistry), Andi Wendorf (Physics), Linda Lemons (English Language), Athena Davis (English Literature), Brad Benefield (European History and U.S. History), Nick Cantrell (Psychology), John Brose (Human Geography), and Carole Dale (German).
 

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