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Duplin County Schools reviews AP access and outcomes; board seeks disaggregated results and school-level data
Summary
District presenter Erica Jones told the board that 298 AP exams were taken by 236 students in 2025 and outlined five-year enrollment and performance trends; board members requested school-by-school breakdowns and counts of 3s, 4s and 5s and asked how the district can improve outreach to historically underrepresented students.
Erica Jones presented an overview of Advanced Placement course offerings and exam results at the Duplin County Schools Board of Education's Dec. 2 meeting, saying, "A total of 298 AP exams were taken by 236 students in 2025." She described five-year trends in participation and passages and noted that expanding access produced growth in participation while overall passing rates declined.
Jones told the board the College Board offers 40 AP courses and that district schools supplement in-person options with statewide partners. "NCSSM Connect expands access by offering 4 AP courses at no cost to students," she said, and the North Carolina Virtual Public School provides additional asynchronous options that the district can use to ensure broader access.
The presentation cited subgroup results and enrollment shifts: Jones reported that 73.3 percent of male students passed their AP exams versus 25 percent of female students and that Black and Hispanic participation grew through 2024 before stabilizing in 2025. "The most significant gains occurred from 2023 to 2024, where Hispanic and black students earning a 3, 4, or 5 nearly tripled," she said. The transcript records these percentages and trends as presented by Jones.
Board members pressed for more detailed data. One board member asked, "On the score 3, 4, and 5, do you have information as to, or is, like, Hispanics, black, ethnicity as to who how many threes, how many fours, and the particular race that..." Erica Jones replied she would provide a table showing counts by school and by student, and she offered to separate which students took courses online versus face-to-face.
Jones described district outreach strategies aimed at improving awareness and equitable participation: the district places AP information in the course guide on the website, provides an eighth-grade presentation and pathway discovery events for students and parents, and integrates AP information into annual AIG presentations from third through eighth grades. She said school counseling and individualized guidance remain central to helping students choose pathways appropriate to their goals.
The board asked for a school-level breakdown of AP participation that clarifies which offerings were through the North Carolina Virtual Public School and which were face-to-face. Jones agreed to supply that information.
The presentation and the requests for detailed breakdowns conclude with an administrative pledge to provide follow-up material to the board; the transcript does not include that follow-up.
