Bentonville High School's Advanced Placement Enrollment Surges

BENTONVILLE -- Bentonville High School expects to administer significantly more Advanced Placement exams this school year compared to last.

There are 1,340 students at the school taking at least one AP class, which represents nearly one-third of enrollment. Together they will take about 2,500 AP exams at the end of the school year, according to Jeremy Yates, an assistant principal who oversees the AP program. That's an increase of more than 11 percent from last school year.

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School Board

The Bentonville School Board meets today at 5:30 p.m. at the School District’s Administration Building, 500 Tiger Blvd. The board is expected to consider the budget for the 2014-15 school year.

Source: Staff Report

Part of that increase can be attributed purely to the high school's 4.3 percent increase in enrollment compared to this time last year. It had 4,286 students as of Wednesday.

But Yates said AP teachers have worked hard to make students aware of the class choices available.

"The major component is the teachers going out and talking to the students," Yates said.

End-of-year AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Many colleges and universities grant credit and placement for scores of 3, 4 or 5 on those exams. That can reduce the number of classes students must take when they reach college, which in turn reduces the cost of college.

In addition, "Some students like to push themselves, and we encourage that," Yates said.

Chad Scott, principal, said it seems more colleges and universities are giving increased consideration to the quality of a student's course load when deciding whether to admit that student. A high grade point average is not necessarily the key to admission.

"Maybe students and parents are getting that message more," Scott said.

Bentonville High has seen similar spikes in AP enrollment before. The school has worked hard at improving communication with junior high teachers to ensure they are encouraging students to pursue AP classes as well.

"We give credit to all levels. It's not just our work, it's the work of the elementaries, the middle schools and the junior highs," Scott said.

The Rogers School District has 2,933 students in grades eight through 12 enrolled in an AP or pre-AP course. That's 53 percent of the students in those grades, according to Ashley Kelley Siwiec, district spokeswoman. Those students are taking a total of 2,674 AP classes and 3,992 pre-AP classes.

Bentonville High is one of the few schools in the state that has an International Baccalaureate program, which often draws comparisons to the AP curriculum. International Baccalaureate emphasizes critical thinking and analytical skills as well as an awareness of world affairs and responsible citizenship.

A personnel audit conducted for the district reported there were 19 International Baccalaureate sections that enrolled 230 students last fall semester, an average of 12 students per section.

The school has seen an increase in International Baccalaureate enrollment, Scott said. Derek Miller, the school's new International Baccalaureate coordinator, has been aggressively promoting the program, Scott said.

NW News on 09/15/2014

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