Lawrence Township Schools Named to the AP District Honor Roll

Lawrence Township Public Schools is one of 477 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll for increasing access to AP  course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams. 

Reaching these goals indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit from rigorous AP course work.

Since 2011, LTPS has increased the number of students participating in AP by 23.4% while improving the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher by 4%. 

New Jersey has 36 districts earning this distinction and two are in Mercer County: Lawrence and East Windsor. 

In 2013, more than 3,300 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement and/or consideration in the admission process, with many colleges and universities in the United States offering credit in one or more subjects for qualifying AP scores. 

“We are delighted the exceptional work of our high school students, staff, and administration are recognized for the growth Lawrence High’s AP program has realized and the increased number of students taking advantage of the more rigorous classes,” said Lawrence Superintendent Crystal Edwards. “These students will reap the benefits of the challenge and will find themselves better equipped for college.” 

Data from 2013 show that among African American, Hispanic, and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half of students are participating because their schools do not always offer the AP course for which they have potential. 

“We applaud the extraordinary efforts of the devoted teachers and administrators in this district who are offering more students the opportunity to engage in rigorous college-level course work,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of AP and Instruction. “These outcomes are a powerful testament to educators’ belief that a more diverse population of students is ready for the sort of rigor that will prepare them for success in college.” 

Inclusion on the 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2011 to 2013, for the following criteria. Districts must: 

• Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts, and at least 11 percent in small districts
• Increase or maintain the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students
• Improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2013 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2011, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.