Mason City Schools is one of 447 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 8th Annual AP® District Honor Roll. These chosen districts simultaneously achieved increases in access to Advanced Placement® courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or improved the rate at which their AP® students earned scores of 3 or higher on an AP Exam. Mason has achieved the recognition each year since the award's inception.
“It is a great accomplishment for our high school to make the AP Honor Roll once again," said Dr. Gail Kist-Kline, Mason City Schools Superintendent. “We have outstanding teachers leading these rigorous classes, hard-working students meeting the challenge, and dedicated principals supporting our staff and students.”
Achieving increased access and student performance is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP course work. For the Class of 2017, 70 percent of the class took at least one AP class, and 88.54 percent of the students enrolled in a class took the exam.
Among Mason’s 26 AP courses are Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Chinese, Comparative Government & Politics, Computer Science, Computer Science Principles, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, European History, French, German, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Music theory, Physics 1: Algebra Based, Physics: Electricity & Magnetism, Physics: Mechanics, Psychology, Spanish, Statistics, Studio Art, US History, and US Government & Politics.
National data from 2017 show approximately 50% of underrepresented students with a high degree of readiness for AP are participating in the program.
“Honor Roll Districts defy the expectation that expanding access automatically results in a decline in the percentage of exams earning scores of 3 or better. Congratulations to you, your staff, and your students for this achievement!” said Dr. Rashida Savage, the College Board’s Ohio K12 Director.
Inclusion on the 8th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2015 to 2017, for the following data:
- Increased participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts
- Increased or maintained percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students scoring 3+ on at least one AP Exam
- Improved performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2017 scoring a 3 or higher than those in 2015, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70%