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Rockland students' AP participation and pass rates climb sharply, presenters say
Summary
Rockland Public Schools reported a multi-year increase in Advanced Placement participation and average scores, with exam takers rising from roughly 100 in 2020 to more than 300 most recently and average scores increasing into the low 3.0s; the committee asked for student-level participation counts.
Cheryl Shipper, the high school principal, told the Rockland School Committee that Advanced Placement participation and pass rates have improved markedly over the past five years.
Shipper said the number of AP exam registrations rose from about 100 in 2020 to more than 300 in the most recent year, and average exam scores increased from about 2.2 in early years to approximately 3.28 most recently. "We continue to trend in the right direction," she said, calling the shift "really impressive." The presenter reported a pass-rate increase from roughly 33% in 2021 to about 70% in recent years.
Why it matters: Higher AP participation and stronger scores can translate to college credit for students and may affect curriculum planning and staffing. Shipper said 11 of 14 AP subjects showed improvement and singled out biology, chemistry, English, history and psychology as areas of notable gains.
Details and examples: Shipper highlighted subject-level turnarounds: biology improved to roughly 88.9% passing with an average near 3.36; chemistry rose to near 100% passing with an average score increase; environmental science and European history also posted large gains. "Anything over a 4 often translates to dollars because students can get exempted from taking those classes in college," she said when describing higher average scores in European history.
Shipper credited teachers and classroom engagement for the results and said the district will keep successful practices in place while examining the three courses that did not improve. She noted the district offers 14 AP classes and is exploring adding a business AP course if there is student interest and a trained teacher available.
Testing disruption: Shipper described a College Board platform failure during an AP Psychology administration that affected about 58 students; multiple students waited hours while staff worked to restore access and many completed the exam late rather than taking a makeup. "Those kids stayed... almost 05:00, taking that exam and giving it their best shot," she said, praising staff management of the situation.
Committee follow-up: A committee member asked whether the figures referred to distinct students or to total exams taken (since individual students may take multiple exams). Shipper said she did not have disaggregated student-count data at the meeting and agreed to provide more precise participation numbers later.
The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; the district said it would continue monitoring AP offerings, maintaining what works and considering expansion based on student demand.
