Arkansas taking college prep lead
Posted on Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Southern states, and Arkansas in particular, are leading the nation in student participation in Advanced Placement programs, a report issued Tuesday shows.
The Georgia-based Southern Regional Education Board’s report shows 26 percent of 2006 graduating seniors in the board’s member states took at least one Advanced Placement exam. That’s two percentage points higher than the national average.
The board, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving educational opportunities in the region, has 16 member states, including Arkansas.
Arkansas posted the greatest increase in student Advanced Placement participation in the nation for the second consecutive year. The percentage of Arkansas seniors who took at least one exam grew by 7 points to 31 percent from 2005 to 2006. That represented about 8, 161 students. The figure grew by 11 percentage points from 2004 to 2005.
The 2007 tests were administered in May, and results are not yet available.
Joan Lord, the board’s director of educational policies, said Tuesday that Southern states ’ gains are remarkable considering the South’s legacy of lagging behind the rest of the nation in education.
The southern shift is a function of three factors, Lord said: The trend toward college-preparatory curricula, recognition of the teacher-training benefits of introducing Advanced Placement courses and new legislation requiring more Advanced Placement offerings.
Between 2003 and 2005, Arkansas adopted legislation requiring high schools to offer a minimum number of Advanced Placement courses, giving students grade-point average bumps for taking the classes and forcing the state to cover the $ 83 exam fees.
“Consider that in 2000, fewer than one in 10 high school students in Arkansas took an AP course. Now it’s one in three. That’s pretty remarkable,” said board spokesman Alan Richard.
Southern states, including Arkansas, need to focus on getting more blacks in Advanced Placement classes, Lord said.
Only 13 percent of black Arkansas students took Advanced Placement exams in 2006, according to the report.
Northwest Arkansas school districts have been state leaders in offering Advanced Placement courses, said Ann Biggers, administrator of the Arkansas Department of Education’s Gifted and Talented division.
At Bentonville High School, for example, the number of Advanced Placement exams taken grew from 73 in 1999 to 849 in 2006, a increase of 1, 063 percent.
“It’s the best preparation for success in college that students can have,” said Kay Jacoby, Bentonville’s executive director of secondary education.
The board report also said that International Baccalaureate programs are growing rapidly in member states.
The International Baccalaureate program exposes students to a rigorous, internationally recognized, two-year college preparatory curriculum. More schools are using the program to supplement their Advanced Placement offerings. Board member states expanded International Baccalaureate enrollment by 7 percent to 19, 285 students from 2005 to 2006. Next year, Bentonville and Springdale high schools will be two of seven schools in the state offering International Baccalaureate programs. Don Love, Springdale assistant superintendent for curriculum and secondary instruction, said Tuesday that Springdale High graduated its first class of 11 International Baccalaureate students this year. Thirtytwo should enroll in the program next year, and Love ultimately expects enrollment to hit 60.
To contact this reporter: jkrupa@arkansasonline. com
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
