Photos by Rome City Schools
Many Rome High School students received recognition for outstanding Advanced Placement (AP) scores this past week as RHS boasts a total of 95 AP scholars with an average score of 3.64, plus three National AP Scholars, which is a major advancement to previous year’s results per Rome High AP Coordinator, Amber Garlin.
“You can tell how hard our students and AP teachers are working and committing themselves to their studies when comparing scores from previous years, which is amazing,” said Garlin.
The Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered at Rome High are certified through the College Board, and students who take those courses are given the opportunity to complete a test at the end of the course with the possibility of earning college credit before they leave high school. It is not required that students who participate in an Advanced Placement course take the corresponding AP exam because each student is still receiving high school credit. However, in order to receive college credit, students must take the final AP exam and pass with a certain score (dependent on each university’s requirements).
There are four categories of Advanced Placement Exam scholars:
• General AP Scholar: granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
• AP Scholar with Honor: granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on 4 or more AP Exams taken.
• AP Scholar with Distinction: granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of three or higher on five or more of these exams.
• National AP Scholar: granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least four on all AP Exams taken, and scores of four or more on eight or more of these exams.
46 of the 95 students at Rome High were classified as General AP Scholars with an average score of 3.17.
16 of the 95 students were honored AP Scholar with Honors with an average score of 3.62.
33 of the 95 students were honored as AP Scholar with Distinction with an average score of 3.98.
3 of the 95 students were honored with the National AP Scholar award with an average score of 4.48.
Dr. Eric Holland, Rome High School Principal, is “honeymoon happy and peacock proud” of his students for the fantastic AP Exams scores. “Hearing about our students’ exceptional AP scores was the highlight of my day. We are so proud of our students and teachers who worked so hard to achieve this goal. Every day is a great day to be a Wolf,” smiled Dr. Holland.
Connie Morrow, AP Psychology teacher, prepared her students for the Psychology AP Exam by “drilling practice, repetition, terms and names, as my class is extremely structured. Time management is also key, but my Rome High students are so smart and incredibly motivated, and these scores reflect that.”
AP students Lindsey Wilkinson, Kallan Carper, Reilly Thomas, Katherine Maslanka, Ripley Bennett, Jordan Smith and Sujahiler Ambrosio have all have taken multiple AP Exams and agree with Mrs. Morrow on the preparation that comes along with taking AP Exams.
“In AP classes, you are also surrounded by people who are wanting to work as hard as you and want to push them to learn, so that is a huge motivation,” explained RHS Senior, Lindsey Wilkinson.
“The most important thing is finding what works best for you, whether that be traveling to Panera with friends to study or taking quizzes in the Crash Course test booklet. We are also blessed with awesome teachers who will do anything to help you succeed,” said RHS Senior, Kallan Carper.
AP Student, Katherina Maslanka stated that, “the AP classes and tests have given me a great insight into what is to come next year once I graduate from high school and transition into college,” which is an important preparation aspect at Rome High School.
Garlin expalined that, “By receiving these incredible scores, the students are learning the value of taking an AP course, and they are seeing the benefits, as well as its worth. By putting yourself out there for a college, university, or anyone who may be interested in one’s personal drive, it helps to show how hard one is willing to work.”
