Regional forum leader, Michael Shackleford of Virginia State University, pledged resolve in embracing student success through wider use of Advanced Placement Program® courses and assessments. These courses offer young people fulfilling curriculum and critical thinking opportunities that help them develop the skills necessary to become thoughtful leaders who can carry our region forward. In addition to Shackleford’s call to action, other colleagues raised their voices for student achievement. In her forum presentation on access granted to first-generation college students, Carmen Goldsmith of the University of South Florida cited the U.S. Department of Education’s Clifford Adelman, who says that the quality and intensity of the secondary school curriculum is the strongest predictor of college degree completion for low-income and
minority youth.

News from a Few of Our 10 States

Kentucky is considering legislation that would make AP a universal mark of high school excellence, and South Carolina is considering a regulation that promotes teacher professional development in advancing the AP agenda for the Palmetto State. Why AP? Research conducted by the National Center for Educational Accountability shows that there is a college graduation rate difference between “matched” AP Exam takers and non-AP Exam takers. AP grades of 3 or higher on AP Exams are strongly predictive of a higher rate of college graduation — 21 percent for African-American students and 27 percent for Hispanic students.

Alabama’s schools will soon participate more fully in PSAT/NMSQT® precollegiate assessment opportunities. This assessment — rich in data regarding student achievement in critical reading, writing and mathematics — allows schools to find students with the potential to succeed in 28 AP courses, provides student and school improvement data in reading and math, invites students to test their mettle against peers from across the nation and builds a college readiness cadre. Alabama’s high school students will benefit from this new focus, which moves forward under the guidance of the Department of Education and with the endorsement of the Alabama National
Math and Science Initiative leadership team.

Virginia and North Carolina Virtual Schools are being ramped up, the better to promote AP success for rural students.

The College Board is on the march for students across the South.

Middle and high schools in Hillsborough County, Fla., have joined the College Board in raising academic expectations for minority and low-income students. The three-year partnership, which will be implemented next school year, expands the EXCELerator™ Schools program to each middle and high school in the district. The goal of the program is to increase the number of students who are college ready.

“Ultimately, we expect to see dramatic differences in the number of students taking honors and AP classes, a diminishing achievement gap and students who believe that they can go on to college or other post secondary options,” says Eric Bergholm, general director, advanced academic access and EXCELerator Schools coach. The EXCELerator Schools program was designed so that all students could meet high expectations for academic performance. The goals include preparing all students for college success, giving all students the opportunity to make a choice about postsecondary education and supplying all students with the knowledge and tools necessary to make that choice.

Hillsborough County is composed of 45 middle schools and 25 high schools and will be the first to pilot this program in grades six-12. The EXCELerator expansion also marks the first time the EXCELerator Schools program will be used in an entire school district. Due to the promising impact of the program seen in the current four EXCELerator Schools in Hillsborough County, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia is preparing to use the EXCELerator Schools model to set a higher standard of academic success for all students.

Success with the EXCELerator program can be attributed to the commitment of the program’s dedicated instructors who teach the rigorous course work to all students. The College Board’s College Readiness Systems division supports these administrators and instructors by providing hands-on professional development. Training for teachers, principals and counselors in Hillsborough County is an important component of the model. Training will begin this summer and continue throughout the three-year partnership.

With this major expansion in the works, the College Board’s College Readiness Systems division is expanding its districtwide reform work by offering the EXCELerator Schools model as one component of a portfolio of services along with College Board Schools and a more customized approach to districts engaged in development of college readiness for all students.