LWSD earns place on prestigious Advanced Placement District Honor Roll

For the second year in a row, the College Board named Lake Washington School District (LWSD) to its Annual AP District Honor Roll. LWSD is one of only 425 public school districts in the nation and one of ten in Washington to be honored.

November 24, 2015 6:03 pm
Lake Washington School District
Lake Washington School District

For the second year in a row, the College Board named Lake Washington School District (LWSD) to its Annual AP District Honor Roll. LWSD is one of only 425 public school districts in the nation and one of ten in Washington to be honored.

The Honor Roll recognizes districts that increase access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams. Districts that reach these goals successfully identify motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit from rigorous AP course work.

This is the third time that LWSD has received this recognition in the six years of the Honor Roll.

More than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S. offer college credit, advanced placement or both for a score of 3 or higher on an AP Exam. Achieving that score may save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition.

“Our vision as a district is to prepare all students for college,” said LWSD Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce. “This honor shows that many of our students are successfully completing college level work while still in high school.”

The number of AP tests taken by LWSD students increased from 3,496 in 2014 to 3,758 in 2015. The rate of students achieving a score of three or higher also increased from 79 percent in 2014 to 80 percent in 2015.

Inclusion on the 6th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on three years of AP data, from 2013 to 2015. The criteria follow.

· Increased participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, 6 percent in medium districts, and 11 percent in small districts.

· Increased or maintained the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

· Improved performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2015 scoring a three or higher to those in 2013, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70 percent of its AP students are scoring a three or higher.