Miami-Dade County Public Schools Placed On The College Board’s 4th Annual AP® District Honor Roll And Named Advanced Placement District Of The Year

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PLACED ON THE COLLEGE BOARD’S 4th ANNUAL AP® DISTRICT HONOR ROLL AND NAMED ADVANCED PLACEMENT DISTRICT OF THE YEAR

District recognized for increasing access and performance, particularly for traditionally
underserved minority students

Miami, Fla. — Miami-Dade County 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. The complete 4th Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found here.

From the AP Honor Roll, three AP Districts of the Year are selected, one for each category of district population size (small, medium, large), for their achievements in equity and excellence. Among schools with large-size populations, Miami-Dade County Public Schools achieved higher increases in AP participation and performance than any other district in the United States over the past three academic years. These successes in increased AP access and performance are particularly noteworthy among the district’s traditionally underserved student populations.
“Receiving the Advanced Placement District Award validates Miami-Dade’s focus on the importance of educating students to be future leaders of our global economy,” said Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “Miami-Dade’s success is an example of why it is important to provide the opportunity for a wide range of students to participate in rigorous Advanced Placement courses, without an institutional fear of performance outcomes. Opening access to AP course offerings empowers students to engineer their own paths into a world requiring a sophisticated global skill set. Our AP students and their teachers have met this intellectual challenge, once thought to be insurmountable, and made it their reality.
During the period from 2011 to 2013, Miami-Dade County Public Schools:

Increased student participation in AP by five percent annually;
Increased the percentage of AP students earning a 3 or above on at least one AP Exam by five percent annually, with 46 percent of their AP students scoring 3 or above in 2013; and
Increased the percentage of traditionally underserved minority AP students earning a 3 or above on at least one AP Exam by six percent annually — an increase of 1,561 students last year.

“We congratulate the dedicated educators within Miami-Dade County Public Schools for achieving AP access and opportunity among its large student population,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at the College Board. “This award is likely to inspire other educators across the nation, who also believes that a more diverse population of students is ready for the sort of rigor that will prepare them for success in college.”

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with a variety of initiatives and strategies to determine how to simultaneously expand access and improve student performance.

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.

There will be a media event to honor Miami-Dade’s selection as the College Board’s Advanced Placement District of the Year, to be scheduled in the next few months. The other two winning districts — one medium and one small — will also be announced in the near future.

About Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools, America’s fourth-largest school system with a diverse enrollment of 350,000 students from over 100 countries, offers innovative educational programs at its 435 schools, including elementary, middle, senior high schools and alternative, specialized and vocational centers. Students and their families have an active voice in choosing learning opportunities that foster academic excellence, school-to-career pathways and real-world learning.

About the Advanced Placement Program®
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies — with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both — while still in high school. Through AP courses in 34 subjects, each culminating in a rigorous exam, students learn tothink critically, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue — skills that prepare them for college and beyond. Taking AP courses demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought the most rigorous curriculum available to them, and research indicates that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a college degree than non-AP students. Each AP teacher’s syllabus is evaluated and approved by faculty from some of the nation’s leading colleges and universities, and AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers. Most four-year colleges and universities in the United States grant credit, advanced placement, or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores — more than 3,600 institutions worldwide annually receive AP scores. In the last decade, participation in the AP Program has more than doubled and graduates succeeding on AP Exams have nearly doubled. In May 2013, 2.2 million students representing 18,920 schools around the world, both public and nonpublic, took approximately four million AP Exams.

About the College Board
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.