Parish lags on AP results

Across Louisiana, high school seniors made strides on Advanced Placement exams that are used to earn college credit, but in St. Mary Parish, the passing percentage declined in 2014, according to data released Thursday.
In St. Mary Parish, 169 more tests were given in 2014 than in 2013, but the percentage passed dropped from 15.6 percent to 13 percent.
The Department of Education said 4,542 public high school students who took an AP test statewide in 2014 scored 3 or higher. That’s the grade on a 1 to 5 scale that most colleges require for students to earn credit.
Less than one-third of the 15,114 Louisiana students who took the tests did well enough to get college credit. But it was an overall increase of 30 percent over the number of students who earned course credits in 2013.
Monica Mancuso, St. Mary Parish’s supervisor of middle and high school instruction, said Advanced Placement courses are offered at all parish high schools, whether face-to-face or online.
However, she said, not all take advantage of them because many state colleges utilize ACT scores to award credit.
Additionally, many parish high schools offer dual-enrollment courses, which award freshman level English or math upon completion.
“We really have a wide plethora of offerings to challenge our juniors and seniors. It’s not all offered through advanced placement,” Mancuso said.
Education Superintendent John White praised statewide results, saying Louisiana students have shown tremendous gains in AP performance since the state put a new emphasis on taking the courses and tests.
“Our successes in advanced placement as a state show that when we set the bar high for our kids, they can achieve at very high levels,” White said.
He acknowledged Louisiana remains near the bottom nationally in the number of students who earn college credit through AP exams, but he said he expects the state to show continued improvement.
The College Board, which oversees the testing, will release state-by-state rankings in the fall, White said. Louisiana was 49th in the number of high school seniors who reached passing scores on the AP exams in 2013.
In recent years, Louisiana has focused on making the classes available to its public high school students. To help boost participation, the department subsidizes the exam cost for low-income students.
“These gains are proof of our students’ hard work in their AP classes, and this effort will help better prepare them for college and a successful future,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said in a statement.
The number of students taking an AP test more than doubled over the last two years, from 6,600 students in 2012 to more than 15,000 this year, according to the education department.
At St. Mary Parish high schools, results for the 2013-14 year were:
—Morgan City: about 40 tests were taken with less than 10 scoring 3 or higher for a 16.7 percent passing rate.
—Berwick: 92 tests taken with 17 scoring 3 or higher for a 18.5 percent passing rate.
—Patterson: about 60 tests were taken with less than 10 scoring 3 or higher for a 10.6 percent passing rate.
—Franklin: no results reported.
—West St. Mary: about 40 tests were taken with less than 10 scoring 3 or higher for a 5 percent passing rate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.