High School Earns AP Honor Roll Listing Again

Bridgewater-Raritan High School announced its selection to the College Board's AP District Honor Roll, this week. This is the third time the school has earned the honor in the last four years.

The Honor Roll recognizes schools across the country which simultaneously increase the number of students taking the challenging AP classes while also increasing the number of students scoring a three or higher on the test, as well as maintaining or increasing the number of African-American, Hispanic and Native American students.

About 477 districts in the U.S. and Canada earned the distinction, which is aimed at acknowledging schools which are recognizing students most likely to succeed with the advanced classes. 

"We applaud the extraordinary efforts of devoted teachers and administrators in this district who are offering more students the opportunity to engage in rigorous college-level course work," Trevor Packer, the College Board senior vice president of AP and Instruction, said. "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."

Bridgewater-Raritan High School offers 22 AP classes, and the school reported increasing the number of participating students by six percent since 2011. According to the NJ School Performance Report for BRHS, 43.7 percent of the school's 11th and 12th grade students take at least one class, topping the school's peer in the state by 3.6 percent and the state average by 14 percent.

The school also far outperformed other similar schools in the percentage of students scoring a three or better (the test scores range from 1-5): BRHS boasts a whopping 94.6 percent of students receiving the higher score, compared to just 75.1 percent statewide and 85.4 percent at peer schools.

The school reported increasing the number of students achieving the higher scores by 50 since 2011.

The school also noted about half of the African-American, Hispanic and Native American students capable of performing well in AP classes enroll in the classes, and said the district "is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds."