Pequannock students earn high AP scores, national merit commendations; board hears AP performance review

Pequannock Township High School students received recognition and the school reported strong results on Advanced Placement exams at the Oct. 6 Pequannock Township Board of Education workshop.

Principal Todd Hazler presented student recognitions and a data review of the 2024–25 AP program, saying the school celebrated two National Merit Commended Students, Timothy Anderson and Aubrey Lentz, and multiple AP Scholar categories. “Every kid that I talk to when they go into the exam, they're showing confidence. And when they walk out of the exam, they're smiling,” Hazler said.

Hazler told the board that the district offered 22 AP exam subjects in 2024–25 and administered about 350 tests. He said the school had an average AP score of 3.93 in 2024–25 — the highest average he could find in records back to 1999 — and that 21 of 22 subjects averaged a score of 3.0 or higher. Hazler reported that 163 of the AP scores were 3 or higher (about 88% of exams) and highlighted subject results including AP Calculus at an average of 4.92 and AP Physics averaging 4.6 (national average cited as 3.12).

Hazler outlined AP Scholar recognitions: 24 AP Scholars (average score 3.71), 19 AP Scholars with honors (average 4.21) and 25 AP Scholars with distinction (average 4.4). He described several program changes and additions — including a new AP Computer Science A course — and said the district reimburses students who score 3 or higher on AP exams.

Board members and administrators discussed whether later school start times contributed to improved performance. Board member Ms. Esposito noted that the 2024–25 year was the first full year with later start times in the district and suggested the change may have helped; Hazler and other administrators said the district will examine internal data to assess possible correlations but did not assert causation.

Hazler described several next steps: deeper analysis of score reports with AP teachers, professional development time for teachers to review data, targeted visits to feeder schools to prepare students for AP workloads, and broader use of AP potential data to inform course recommendations. He also described outreach to younger students to demystify AP expectations and reduce scheduling barriers.

Ending

Administrators said they would post AP score reports and supporting materials online and planned future board presentations (including Oct. 27) to review state assessment results and other academic data. No policy or budget changes tied specifically to the AP results were voted on at the Oct. 6 meeting.