Frisco ISD’s Advanced Placement (AP) program has grown to become one of the largest in Texas, with 8,475 students taking 17,843 AP exams in the 2019-20 school year. This is an increase of more than 925 students and 1,800 more exams administered than the year before.
Dr. Angela Romney, managing director of academic programs, said: “AP courses focus on building skills, such as critical thinking and writing skills, that are helpful for students as they move forward with additional AP courses or university-level coursework. This year’s AP exams were unique due the pandemic and students were able to take their exams at home on any device they had access to – computer, tablet or smartphone.
“Despite moving to virtual instruction in the spring, Frisco ISD’s AP teachers continued to teach students at a high level so that students were prepared for the revised exam format, which did not include any multiple choice questions and relied heavily on essays,” she said. “Students rose to the occasion and successfully exhibited the skills they had been working on all school year.”
The AP program provides students with a pathway to earn college credit while in high school.
Frisco ISD offers 32 AP courses that span all subject areas.
The four most popular AP Exams taken in FISD in the spring were
AP Human Geography at 2,088 exams,
AP World History at 1,883 exams,
AP English Language at 1,780 exams and
AP US History at 1,463 exams.
AP courses are rigorous, college-level courses that align with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the College Board standards and skills. Students may earn college credit by taking the AP exam in May and scoring a 3 or higher.
Even as the FISD AP program expands, the student success continues to remain high with 75 percent of all exams taken earning a 3, 4 or 5 making the student eligible to earn college credit.
More than 51% of the Frisco ISD Class of 2020 scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam during their high school career.
Students who received scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams were deemed AP Scholar Award winners, while students who completed and scored a 3 or higher in an AP Seminar and Research course and scored a 3 or higher on four additional AP courses were recognized with an AP Capstone Diploma.
Frisco ISD had 3,178 or 38 percent of the students who took AP Exams earn an AP Scholar Award or AP Capstone Award.
Click here to learn more about the FISD Advanced Placement program.
We are carrying on our series of scholarship recipients into August. For information on these scholarships, go to Frisco Education Foundation website
