Advanced Placement sees enrollment jump By Nirvi Shah, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Monday, March 1, 2004 The local push to get more students to take Advanced Placement courses that can earn them college credits has resulted in enrollment almost doubling in the past five years in Palm Beach County. Although a higher percentage of students aren't passing the Advanced Placement exam, they are getting exposure to the tougher classes, educators say. "Even if they don't get a passing score on the AP test, it's going to help them in college," Santaluces High Principal Glenn Heyward said. "They still get the knowledge." Advanced Placement course enrollment increased from 2,676 in 1999 to 4,728 in 2003 in Palm Beach County. More minority students are enrolled, including 450 black students and 673 Hispanic students last year, according to a report released recently by Superintendent Art Johnson. The county is part of a statewide trend. The percentage of Florida students taking Advanced Placement classes was double that of the national rate in the last year, according to the College Board, a New York-based not-for-profit organization. Since 1999, the number of Advanced Placement test-takers in Florida's public schools has increased about 76 percent. Black students' participation has increased 116 percent since then, and Hispanic students' participation has increased almost that much. The classes, which offer college-level workloads, can make students eligible for college credit if they pass the end-of-year Advanced Placement exams. The tests are supplied by the College Board, the same group that administers the SAT. Passing means earning a score of at least 3 on a scale of 1 to 5. Most colleges grant students credit for a score of 3 or above. But even if a student fails the Advanced Placement test -- which is separate from normal class tests -- they can pass the class, and the weighted passing grades can help boost their grade-point averages. "The College Board will say to you, you're not populating your classes appropriately if every single kid in the class passes," said Christie Ragsdale, the school district's secondary guidance specialist. "It should be offered to a variety of students." Black students have the lowest passing rate in the county, 29 percent, compared with a 57 percent passing rate for white students and a 60 percent passing rate for Hispanics. At predominately black Glades Central High in Belle Glade, the school almost doubled the number of students in Advanced Placement classes, from 23 to 49 between 2002 and 2003. While more students taking the end-of-year exams typically means the number who pass decreases, Glades Central jumped from a 7 percent passing rate to a 25 percent passing rate. But at Pahokee Middle/Senior High, where the number of students taking Advanced Placement classes is slightly lower than what it was five years ago, no students have passed the test for the last three years. Palm Beach County requires all students who take Advanced Placement classes to take the exams, which not every district does. That may affect the passing rate, Ragsdale said, and that's OK. "We have statistics that show students that just participate in advanced coursework like AP will graduate college more quickly and will do better than their peers in college," College Board spokeswoman Jennifer Topiel said. According to the organization, 45 percent of students who have taken one Advanced Placement course and 61 percent of students who have taken two or more complete their bachelor's degrees in four years or less, while only 29 percent without Advanced Placement experience complete their bachelor's degrees in four years. Schools and teachers have an incentive for students to pass: Money. The state rewards schools for every test graded 3 and above by the College Board. Advanced Placement teachers get bonuses based on the number of their students who pass. Last year's results garnered more than $3 million for Palm Beach County. But schools don't have equal access to earning that money. Suncoast High in Riviera Beach and Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach offered 21 and 18 Advanced Placement classes respectively last year. Forest Hill offered 11. Glades Central had four. Ragsdale, the district guidance specialist, attributes the discrepancies to each school catering to the needs -- and demands -- of its students. Charles Addicott, a junior at Wellington High, already has two Advanced Placement classes and he's tackling four more this year. With no gifted program in high school, he was looking for more-challenging classes. "I've never learned more," Addicott said. The College Board provides lists of students who might be good Advanced Placement candidates, based on SAT or PSAT scores. And guidance counselors are trying to teach students not to be afraid of the classes. "Some of them still don't want to have anything to do with AP," said Heyward, the Santaluces principal. "They just want to coast through."