THOMASVILLE -- At Brookwood School, 40 students in the 11th and 12th grades took a total of 72 Advanced Placement Exams in six different courses in May. AP exam scores, which have just been released to the school by the College Board, range from 1 to 5, with scores of 3, 4 or 5 considered passing in terms of awarding credit by most colleges.
At Brookwood, 89 percent of scores were 3 or higher this year, maintaining the high percentage level set by Brookwood students over the past five years, when the percentage of passing scores ranged as high as 96 percent in 2008 and 94 percent last year.
With 40 percent of Brookwood exam-takers achieving the highest score of 5 and 64 percent scoring 4 or higher, Brookwood students averaged 3.9 out of a possible 5 for all students taking all 72 exams.
Research by the College Board, which administers the AP courses and exams, indicates that students who earn a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam in a core subject such as mathematics, history, English or science generally do well in college as a result of rigorous academic preparation.
In Brookwood's AP Biology exam, 11 students received the top score of 5. The average score for all 14 Brookwood students taking that exam was 4.63 out of a possible 5.
Nine students scored 5 on the United States History AP exam, out of a total of 12 taking the exam. There were 5 top scores in European History, 3 highest scores in English Literature and Composition and 1 in Studio Art, with 100 percent of Art and History scores a 3, 4 or 5.
Brookwood juniors, who will graduate in 2011, who took AP exams averaged 4.57 in their scores.
Students are not required by the College Board to take an exam if enrolled in an Advanced Placement course. About one-third of students enrolled in the courses nationwide take the exam. But Brookwood requires students enrolled in AP classes to take the exams, like many other schools.
As do most other high schools, Brookwood, gives extra grade-point weight on the grade point average of students taking an AP course and exam. In this way, a student's GPA is not adversely affected by taking accelerated AP courses.
Admissions officers at most colleges look favorably on students who tackle AP courses and who pass the exam. A recent Washington Post study indicated that earning a 3 or higher on an AP Exam, not just taking an AP course or taking the course and not doing well on the exam, was a key to college success.
Although credit varies by college and academic departments within colleges, a score of 3 means the student is qualified to earn college credit and/or advanced placement in "virtually all four-year colleges and universities, including the most selective," according to the College Board. A score of 5 is deemed "extremely well qualified." The American Council on Education has also recommended, as a general rule, that colleges and universities award credit for grades of 3 or better on AP examinations.
"Brookwood students achieving passing scores on Advanced Placement exams are our Upper School pace-setters," said Headmaster Mike Notaro. "We take special pride in the achievements of these students, and we're proud of Brookwood's reputation as a college preparatory school among admissions counselors at the hundreds of colleges and universities that have provided higher education to our alumni."
Notaro said the Brookwood Advanced Placement faculty members are to be commended for the rigorous preparation and teaching involved in these classes.
"Grading of AP examinations is done independently by trained readers at the national level," Notaro said.
"Brookwood's Upper School Director and Assistant Headmaster David Grooms, who teaches our AP History classes, has consented to grade exams for nine years, and Science Department Chair Carol Sheftall has evaluated exams for four years. English Chair Ann Larson also has served as a reader in the past. The College Board consistently turns to Brookwood for our faculty's expertise with Advanced Placement classes."
Grooms said that some schools teach multiple AP classes, but don't require that students take the exams or don't put great emphasis on the scores.
"Earning a 3 or higher on exams is a great predictor of college success - much better than simply taking AP courses and not taking the exam or failing to earn at least a 3," Grooms explained. "While not all Brookwood students who take an AP course earn a 3 or higher, our goal is to provide a rigorous course that prepares most of our students to do so."
Abby Lewis of Monticello, Fla., the valedictorian of Brookwood's class of 2010, is seen here in her AP English class during her senior year. Lewis is one of 40 Brookwood students who took Advanced Placement Exams in May.
