4 area districts make AP honor roll

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

The exterior of Niskayuna High School.

Four local school districts have been recognized in the College Board’s annual “honor roll” for increasing participation and scores on Advanced Placement tests.

Canajoharie, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Scotia-Glenville and Niskayuna school districts all made the list. About 25 districts in New York made the list.

To be recognized, districts had to increase overall participation in the Advanced Placement exams while maintaining student diversity and student test performance on the AP tests. Niskayuna schools, for example, increased the number of students participating in AP exams from 203 in 2015 to 251 last year.

Scotia-Glenville schools reported a 44 percent increase in the total number of students taking AP classes between 2015 and 2017, going from 108 to 156. The number of AP tests taken by Scotia students increased even more dramatically, from 169 in 2015 to 259 last year.

“Scotia-Glenville High School is committed to offering a wide array of AP courses taught by well-trained teachers, based on the belief that participating in challenging high school courses is the best way for students to prepare for success in college and career,” the district wrote in a note to parents that spells out its philosophy on AP classes.