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October 15, 2014
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Mary Persons’ SAT
Mary Persons leads area in
percent passing AP tests
MP leads area
in AP credits
Svstem
% oassina
Monroe
64 percent
Houston
53 percent
Jones
41 percent
Butts
35 percent
Lamar
23 percent
Bibb
15 percent
Peach
12 percent
2014
the material
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@mymcr.net
Advanced Placement
students at Mary
Persons fare better than
every school system in
Middle
Georgia
when it
comes to
passing
the AP
tests that
earns col
lege credit.
Monroe
County
schools got
good news
when
Georgia
released
results for
Advanced Placement
(AP) tests. Last May,
109 students at Mary
Persons took 148 AP
examinations, and 94
(64 percent) of those
tests resulted in scores
that could be accepted
by colleges as credit for
the courses.
"Students and teachers
worked very hard to get
those scores up," said
Mary Person principal
Jim Finch. "It starts and
ends in the classroom.
We're fortunate to have
good students who work
very hard to meet our
teachers high expecta
tions in both SAT and
AP performance."
Finch said that in his
calculation, Mary
Persons ranks 67th in
the state in passing per
centage on AP exams
and trails only Veterans
High School in middle
Georgia.
AP courses are taught
at the high school by AP
certified teachers. For
some AP classes, honors
courses in the disci
plined are required as a
prerequisite. The AP
classes
cover the
material
required
in a col
lege cur
riculum
course.
At the
end of
the class,
students
may take
a state
examina
tion over
)earn a
score from 1-5. Colleges
accept scores from 3-5 as
evidence that the infor
mation has been mas
tered at the college level
and give credit for the
equivalent number of
college hours. Each col
lege determines whether
it will accept AP credit
and what score it will
require for credit in each
class. Obtaining credit
for AP courses can be a
considerable savings
over paying tuition for
the classes and can give
students a head start
toward a college degree.
Many students take
AP classes for the chal
lenge and the knowledge
but decide not to take
the exams. In 2014,
there were 253 students
at Mary Persons
enrolled in AP classes,
although there were
only 148 exams taken,
and there were 425 mid
dle school students
enrolled in pre-AP class
es.
For comparison to stu
dents in surrounding
school systems, in
Houston County 1,222
students took 2,114 AP
tests, and 1,130 of those
resulted in scores of 3, 4
or 5. In Bibb County
1,148 students took
1,792 AP exams, and
273 earned scores of 3 or
higher.
In Butts County 76
students took 110 AP
exams and 38 earned
scores of 3-5. In Jones
County, 72 students took
96 tests, and 39 scored
high enough for college
credit. In Peach County
89 test takers completed
92 exams, and 11 of
them scored high
enough for credit. In
Lamar County 48 stu
dents took 57 tests, and
13 of them were scored
3-5.
The Georgia
Department of
Education press release
says that more students
in the state are taking
and passing AP exams
and that Georgia is out
pacing the nation in
growth in both partici
pation and passing
according to the May
2014 data. There were
89,806 Georgia students
taking 154,176 exams
for an 8 percent increase
in participants and an
8.9 percent increase in
tests taken. The number
of tests scored high
enough for college credit
was 86,075, a 9.6 per
cent increase.
English Language and
Composition was the
most popular AP exam
among Georgia test-tak
ers, with 18,108 stu
dents taking the exam.
United States History
and World History fol
lowed, with 17,720 and
15,200 test-takers,
respectively. Georgia
participation and scores
have risen steadily in
the last five years.
There are at least 35
AP courses that high
schools in the U.S. may
choose to offer. Each
high school decides how
many and which classes
to offer according to stu
dent demand for the
classes and the avail
ability of qualified
instructors.
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score back up to 1403
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@mymcr.net
While leading Middle
Georgia in AP testing,
Mary
Persons
also
record
ed
above
average
scores
on the
SAT in
2014.
With
157
stu
dents
taking
the
SAT, the average score
in reading was 475, in
math 478 and in writing
455. The perfect score
for each of the three sec
tions is 800.
In 2013, with 166 tak
ing the SAT, Mary
Persons students had
scored 454 in critical
reading, 459 in math,
and 427 in writing.
Those scores were the
lowest for MP in at least
five years. Thus, Mary
Persons total score rose
from 1,340 in 2013 to
1,403 in 2014, which
was also higher than the
1,397 of 2012 but below
the 1,458 of 2010. The
mean score for Georgia
students in 2014 was
1,445. Nationally, the
mean score was 1,497,
one point less than 2013
and 2012.
Compared to Mary
Persons' score of 1,403,
in surrounding counties
only Houston students
had a higher mean SAT
score (1,449) with 1,019
students taking the test.
In Crawford County 44
students had a mean
score of 1,391. In Jones
County, 188 students
had a mean score of
1,367. In Jasper County
62 students produced a
mean of 1,329 on the
SAT while 85 students
in Butts County reached
a mean of 1,325. On the
low end were 82 stu
dents in Lamar County
at 1,282 and 712 stu
dents in
Bibb
County
with a
mean
score of
1,266.
The
state
board of
education
reported
an
increase
in the
number
of seniors
taking the test and a
slight drop in scores of
two points in math and
reading and three points
in writing. There were
73,626 Georgia seniors
who took the SAT, a 2.1
percent increase over
2013. More of the test
takers (30.5 percent)
requested that their
scores be sent to the
University of Georgia
than any other school.
Other schools of greatest
interest to Georgia stu
dents were Kennesaw
State, Georgia Southern,
Georgia State, Georgia
Tech, Valdosta State,
University of West
Georgia, and Georgia
College & State
University.
The College Board,
which administers AP
and SAT tests, released
them differently this
year than in previous
years, releasing both
sets of scores as a pack
age. The College Board
announced last year
that it is in the process
of substantially revising
the SAT.
MP among best
in area on SAT
Houston 1449
Georgia 1445
Mary Persons 1403
Crawford 1391
Jones 1367
Jasper 1329
Butts 1325
Lamar 1282
Bibb 1266
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