WHS Advanced Placement performance outpaces state expectations

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For the second year in a row, Westfield High School graduates have surpassed the Indiana Dept. of Education’s goal for 25 percent of high school graduates to pass Advanced Placement exams. More than 56 percent of the class of 2011’s 340 graduates took an AP exam and 33.8 percent received a passing score (3, 4 or 5 on a 1:5 scale) on an AP exam.

“We are extremely proud of our students and their academic achievements,” said WHS Principal Stacy McGuire. “Each year, we have more students take AP courses, but more importantly, those students who score at 3, 4 or 5 on the exams earn college credit.”

The IDOE released the 2011 school-level AP data and the results show more Indiana schools than ever are reaching the state’s goal for 25 percent of high school graduates to pass AP exams.

WHS students have shown steady gains during the past two years. In 2009-2010, 55.8 percent of the 394 graduates took an AP exam and 25.9 percent passed an AP exam.

WHS offers 18 AP courses in these subject areas – biology, calculus AB, calculus BC, chemistry, economics, English language and composition, English literature and composition, environmental science, European history, U.S. government, U.S. history, physics, psychology, Spanish, statistics, studio art 2-D and world history.

Statewide, according to the College Board’s Eighth Annual AP Report to the Nation, Indiana students achieved the nation’s sixth highest one-year increase in graduates earning a passing score on an AP exam.

WHS ranks 12th in the state for the percent of graduates that passed an AP exam among public high schools and locally; WHS is fifth. Other area high schools in the top 12 were Zionsville Community High School (2nd), Carmel High School (5th), Fishers High School (9th) and Hamilton Southeastern High School (10th).

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