All four Floyd County high schools were among a select group of high schools across the state honored by State School Superintendent Richard Woods as he announced the 2021 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools.
Armuchee High, Model High, and Pepperell High were all honored as AP Challenge Schools. In addition, Coosa High was honored as an AP Access and Support School and Model High as an AP Expansion School.
AP classes offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school. AP classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. Students receiving a score of 3, 4, or 5 on an AP exam may receive college credit.
AP Challenge schools are small high schools of fewer than 900 students offering the AP advanced courses in the core subject areas of English, math, science, and social studies.
AP Access and Support Schools are schools with at least 30 percent of AP exams taken by students who identified themselves as African-American and/or Hispanic and 30 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
AP Expansion Schools are AP schools with 25 percent growth in AP student participation from May 2019 to May 2020 and a minimum of 25 students testing in May 2019.
According to data released by the College Board, Georgia’s public-school class of 2020 has the 17th-highest AP pass rate in the nation. Overall, 38.5 percent of Georgia’s class of 2020 took an AP exam while in high school. This is the 16th-highest AP participation rate in the nation. 49.4 percent of Georgia’s class of 2020 test-takers used an AP exam fee reduction.
“I am very proud of our teachers and students who are a part of our AP programs,” stated Dr. Glenn White, Floyd County Schools (FCS) Superintendent. “We have some of the best AP teachers in the state and these recognitions reinforce the fact our schools are academically focused and students who want an academically challenging environment get a great education in FCS.”
FCS is one of the area leaders in AP offerings for students with 18 AP courses available in the four high schools as well as the only public school system in Northwest Georgia to offer AP Capstone.
“AP courses provide an increased level of rigor that helps ensure student success at the post-secondary level,” stated John Parker, FCS Assistant Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer. “Online AP classes taught by Floyd County teachers helped to improve the availability of AP classes. It is yet another way for our system to be flexible and best meet the unique needs of our most advanced learners.”
Floyd County high schools have regularly earned AP honors for the last several years. The system made the commitment to be a leader in AP courses offered to students with the move to a more extensive offering of advanced courses with the introduction of the system’s honors program in the fall of 2002. This advanced program of study for students in FCS is among the top college-preparatory programs in Northwest Georgia. The comprehensive, rigorous, advanced program of study is designed to prepare students for the most demanding college or university. The honors program is available at all four Floyd County high schools.
“Each year we have really improved our rigor and expectations for our students and schools. The AP Capstone program has helped build our AP program and each year we seem to have more students enrolling in classes and taking exams which helps them get college credit,” stated McCall Govignon, FCS Director of Advanced Academics and Assessment. “We’ve explored options for all students, whether it be online AP courses or AP/ Dual Enrollment courses. We’ve also expanded to offer some courses at the College and Career Academy, so scheduling conflicts are not an issue.”
The expansion of AP class offerings was a major component in raising the level of academic opportunities available to students in Floyd County. Higher-level academic opportunities help teens prepare for success at the nation’s top colleges and universities.
