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Council Bluffs board hears report: AP pass rate, concurrent credits hold near-record levels
Summary
District staff reported stable advanced-course enrollments for 2024–25, a jump in AP exam pass rate to 58%, and nearly 10,000 college credits earned through concurrent enrollment.
District staff reported sustained participation in advanced courses for the 2024–25 school year and highlighted gains on Advanced Placement exams during a presentation to the Council Bluffs Community School District Board of Education.
Dr. Matthews, a district administrator presenting the report, said total advanced-course enrollments (AP and concurrent enrollment combined) were 3,826 for 2024–25, compared with 3,855 the prior year. The district administered 210 AP exams in 2024–25, up from 197 the year before, and raised its AP pass rate to 58 percent, the presenter said. "We increased to a 58 percent pass rate," Matthews said.
The presenter also noted that 15 students earned AP Scholar awards this year, with 8 students meeting the AP Scholar criteria (scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams), 4 students achieving AP Scholar with Honor status, and 3 students earning AP Scholar with Distinction.
Concurrent-enrollment participation remained high, the report said, with district students earning 9,805 concurrent-enrollment college credits in 2024–25. Matthews said those credits are awarded by the participating colleges — primarily Iowa Western Community College, with some courses at Des Moines Area Community College — and represented college-level coursework students completed without tuition cost to families.
Board members asked whether concurrent credits transfer broadly. Matthews said most are accepted by Iowa Western and a majority of Iowa institutions; AP credits remain more widely transferable at out-of-state institutions. The presenter also said four new teachers had been vetted and approved to teach concurrent-enrollment courses this year (three in science and one in education), and that physics concurrent-enrollment is now offered at both high schools.
Why it matters: The district ties advanced-course participation to Strategic Goal 2 (graduate future-ready students) and to the diploma-plus-one metric; higher pass rates and large numbers of concurrently earned college credits reduce the cost and time required for students to pursue postsecondary credentials.
The board did not take action on the report; trustees thanked staff and will recognize students who earned AP Scholar distinctions at a future meeting.
