Colorado School Districts Make AP Honor Roll List

DENVER, CO – Hundreds of school districts, including four in Colorado, have been named to the annual AP District Honor Roll, which recognizes schools that increase access and performance related to Advanced Placement programs. More than 370 school districts across the country and in Canada were recognized on the 9th annual list.

To qualify, large school districts had to show there was at least 4 percent more participation and access to Advanced Placement programs. Medium districts had to see at least a 6 percent increase and small districts had to see at least 11 percent.

These schools increased access to Advanced Placement courses for minority students while also improving or maintaining the rate at which participating students scored a 3 or higher on an AP Exam.

Denver Public Schools made a repeat appearance on the list. DPS was commended by the organization for improving AP access in a district with at least 30 percent enrollment of American Indian, African-American and Hispanic/Latino students and at least 30 percent of participants who qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Another repeat award winner this year was Castle Rock-based Douglas County School District.

St. Vrain Valley School District, based in Longmont, and Littleton Public Schools were first-time awardees this year.

National data from this year showed that about half of underrepresented students with a “high degree of readiness for AP” participated in the program, the organization wrote on its website.

College Board sponsors the Advanced Placement program and the popular SAT test, which attempts to assess a students’ college-readiness. The Honor Roll recognition is based on three years of data from 2016 to 2018.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

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