Walton County School District continues Advanced Placement success

(Monroe, Ga.) — Based on College Board’s 2021 Advanced Placement (AP) scores, 71 percent of Walton County students scored a 3 or higher on this year’s exams and 111 students received AP Scholar Awards in three different categories. 

While all three high schools experienced a slight decline in participation from the previous school year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pass rate amongst students remained steady. During the 2020-21 school year, 452 students across all three high schools were enrolled in 18 different AP courses. The Walton County School District offers an average of 12 AP courses on campus per year, but students have access to all 38 courses offered by College Board through Georgia Virtual at no cost.

“We are extremely proud of our students, teachers, and administrators for their hard work during the 2020-21 school year,” said Director of Secondary Curriculum Celeste Cannon. “Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our students continued to excel in rigorous college-level work. We look forward to focusing on increasing our participation and helping more students earn college credit while still in high school.”

Students must take an AP exam at the conclusion of a course in order to earn college credit. The scores are weighted based on free-response and multiple-choice questions. Final scores are reported on a 5-point scale where students who score 3 or higher are eligible to receive college credit and in some cases exempt introductory college courses.

In addition, College Board recognizes individual students at several levels of achievement based on student’s performance on AP Exams:

Thirty-two (32) students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Loganville High School students earned an average score of 4.13, Monroe Area High School students earned an average of 4.06 and Walnut Grove High School students averaged a score of 3.83. 

Twenty-five (25) students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. Loganville High School students earned an average score of 3.50, Monroe Area High School students earned an average of 3.44 and Walnut Grove High School students averaged a score of 3.57.

Fifty-three (53) students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by earning a score of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. Loganville High School students earned an average score of 3.16, Monroe Area High School students earned an average of 3.43 and Walnut Grove High School students averaged a score of 3.29.

“I want to commend our students for successfully taking advantage of a challenging program to better prepare themselves for the future,” said Superintendent Nathan Franklin. “I want to also thank our teachers and administrators for their continued leadership. Teaching at all levels has been challenging over the past year and a half with school closures, quarantines, and illness. We recognize the increased difficulty that comes along with these types of courses and our ability to remain open and continue to see success at this level is impressive.”

Walton County School District six-year score summaries are as follows:

Loganville High School	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total Number of AP Students	173	195	210	176	223	221
Total Number of AP Exams	275	333	351	303	408	364
% of Total AP Students with Scores 3+	73.4	65.1	74.9	79	70.3	77.8

Monroe Area High School	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total Number of AP Students	145	161	142	161	139	96
Total Number of AP Exams	248	246	249	271	229	141
% of Total AP Students with Scores 3+	75.2	71.4	70.4	68.3	64	63.5

Walnut Grove High School	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Total Number of AP Students	143	79	142	145	163	135
Total Number of AP Exams	194	101	188	186	220	200
% of Total AP Students with Scores 3+	49.0	51.9	68.5	67.6	65.6	64.4

The Walton County School District serves around 14,000 students in 15 schools including nine elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools. The mission of the Walton County School District is to ensure that each student acquires the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve personal success and enrich the community. The district values students as individuals with unique intellectual, physical, social and emotional needs. For more information, please visit www.walton.k12.ga.us.