Students benefit when they successfully complete an Advanced Placement class and the end-of-course assessment, according to Warsaw Community Schools Chief Accountability Officer Amy Sivley. Sivley gave the school board a report on AP Monday night. There are 34 AP courses available, and in 2011-12 and 2012-13, WCS offered 14 of them, she said. Success on an AP exam is defined as a score of at least 3 on a scale of 5, which represents the score point that research finds predictive of college success and graduation. “Research has been consistent on that for decades,” Sivley said. Most four-year colleges in the U.S. and colleges in more than 60 other countries give students credit, advanced placement or both based on AP exam scores, she said. Entering college with AP credits allows students to have time to move into upper level courses, pursue a double major or study abroad. There also are money-saving advantages, Sivley said. She said students with AP credits are more likely to graduate from college in four years. Students who take longer at public universities or college to graduate can spend up to $19,000 for each additional year. AP also helps students qualify for scholarships. According to the AP data Sivley presented, in 2012 there were 73 Warsaw students who took the AP test in Calculus AB; 71 in U.S. history; 54 in U.S. government and politics; 49 in English language and composition; and 36 in English literature and composition. The other courses included European history (27), Calculus BC (21), Physics B (12), Spanish language (12), biology (11), Studio Art: 2-D Design Portfolio (9) and one each in psychology and statistics. While 50 students took an AP test in 2008, a total of 219 took one in 2012. “We have quadrupled the number of students that have taken the AP test,” Sivley said. The number of students with AP exam scores of 3 or more went from 26 in 2008 to 122 in 2012. “That has gone up five times,” Sivley reported. The percentage of students who earned a 3 or higher on the AP exams has gone up above the state average every year since 2008, but remains below the global average. In 2008, Warsaw students took a total of 63 AP exams. In 2012, 219 students took 377 AP exams. “So that tells me we have students taking multiple tests,” Sivley said. She reported, “Warsaw Community Schools has shown a dramatic increase in the number of students taking AP exams, the number of AP exams taken and the number of students earning a 3 or higher.” This will continue to grow as this year all AP students will be required to take the AP exam. “That has not always been the case,” Sivley said. Board Secretary Delores Hearn asked Sivley if there is financial help for students who can’t afford to take the AP exam. “If they get a 3 or higher, the test will be paid for them,” Sivley responded. Mostly juniors and seniors take the AP exams, she said, but occasionally a sophomore takes one. For more information about AP scores, Sivley recommended the website www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html
