Six Cobb Schools Honored by State For Advanced Placement Success

Six Cobb County high schools were named 2008 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools today by Georgia Superintendent of Schools Cathy Cox. The AP Honor Schools program recognizes schools that have committed to providing challenging Advanced Placement courses to as many students as possible. Advanced Placement courses provide rigorous, college-level learning options to high school students. Students who score a 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams can receive college course credit.

The state has designated three achievement designations for the AP Honor Schools Program. AP Challenge Schools are schools with 900 or fewer students that offer at least one AP course in each of the four traditional core areas – English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

Campbell, North Cobb and Pebblebrook high schools earned recognition in the program’s second category, AP Access and Support Schools.  This designation is for schools with at least 30 percent of AP test takers identified as African-American or Hispanic and 30 percent of AP exams receiving scores of three (3) or higher.

At the highest level of honor, AP Merit Schools have at least 20 percent of students taking AP exams and at least half of AP exams receiving a score of three (3) or higher. Lassiter, Harrison and Walton high schools earned the AP Merit School designation for 2008.

These honors come just weeks after the Cobb County School District announced this year’s Advanced Placement Certified Schools, a District program that honors similar strides in providing Advanced Placement courses. Each of Cobb’s 15 high schools met the criteria for inclusion in the District’s APCS program, as well as 16 middle schools honored as APCS Middle School Affiliates. The APCS program began in Cobb in 2004 as a means of making honors and AP classes accessible to more students and to support high achievement.

For more information about the 2008 AP Honor Schools and the District’s own AP Certified Schools program, visit the District Web site at www.cobbk12.org.