In recent years, Tug Valley’s Advanced Placement (AP) program has enjoyed a trend of growing success in the number of students successfully obtaining college credit.  This is in large part thanks to the hard work of both students and teachers alike.  For those unacquainted, AP is a series of courses provided through College Board that requires teachers to obtain training to teach.  Throughout the school term, students gain as much knowledge and skills as possible until they take the AP exam each May. Students can score anything from a 1 to 5 once exams are graded over the summer.  Anything above a 3 is considered by most colleges and institutions as satisfactory and will award college credit. 

 

 Tug Valley's Five Year AP Breakdown

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Total AP Students	61	58	55	53	54
Number of Exams	101	133	120	112	103
AP Students with Scores 3+	5	12	14	13	31
% of Total AP Students with Scores 3+	8.2	20.7	25.5	24.5	57.4

 

We sat down with a handful of educators and asked for their thoughts on Tug Valley’s growing success in AP:

 

Marie White (AP Government, AP Psychology): We don’t only have larger numbers of students passing AP exams, we also have higher numbers of students taking multiple AP classes.  We are seeing students become more invested in the classes that are offered at the school.  Even if students are not passing AP exams, they are entering college prepared for the workload and expectations of college.

 

Steven Alley (AP Statistics): I’ve been seeing more and more success overall.  We had an AP workshop a few years back where we formed a collective vision in which we brought AP students to the table to hear feedback from them and also shared best practices among ourselves.  I think that workshop is what started the improvement at our school.  We changed the culture and climate of AP.  Instead of students taking AP to solely boost their GPAs, we began to shift the focus towards academic achievement and investing in their future by getting college credit.

 

Lorraine Davis (AP English Language): Teachers work together here despite the fact many of us in AP work in different departments.  We’ve motivated more and better students to take the AP exam.  Students are beginning to see successes the in AP program here and has led to a greater level of buy-in.  When kids see they can skip English 101 by passing the exam and when they get recognition on awards day of their hard work, it really showcases the value of the AP program. 

 

Tug Valley’s AP course offerings include the following:

 

Arts

- AP Studio Art: 2D Design

- AP Studio Art: Drawing

 

English and Language Arts:

- AP English Language and Composition

- AP English Literature and Composition

 

History and Social Sciences

- AP Human Geography

- AP Psychology

- AP U.S. Government and Politics

- AP U.S. History

- AP World History (Modern)

 

Math

- AP Calculus AB

- AP Statistics

 

Science

- AP Biology

 

Students interested in AP next school year can get in contact with our counsellors

Bryna Jewell: bjewell@k12.wv.us

Candace Fletcher: cdfletcher@k12.wv.us