Record Number of Hawaii Public School Students Get AP Honors
The College Board gives “Scholar Awards” to students who earn exceptionally high scores on their Advanced Placement exams.
A record 492 students from public schools across Hawaii have earned awards for exceptional achievement in their college-level Advanced Placement courses, according to the College Board, the company that administers the exams.
Students who perform well on their exams typically earn college credit or advanced placement in college courses. The ones who do exceptionally well also earn “.” About 20 percent of the 2.1 million students who took AP exams last year performed at a level high enough to get those awards.
A high score on an AP exam often makes a high school student eligible for college credit.
Fotolia
Noteworthy recipients in Hawaii include Viola Mocz of Mililani High and Bryson Galapon of Maui High, both of whom scored a three or higher on the greatest number of AP exams and the highest average score on all AP exams taken. (The exams are graded on a five-point scale.)
Mikiko Takato of Hilo High earned the “AP International Diploma” for earning a score of three or higher on five or more AP exams, including those in a world language, English, a global perspective course, and a math, science or computer science class.
The Hawaii Department of Education launched its in September 2011, expanding AP course offerings and test preparation in public high schools. Since then, the number of students taking and passing AP exams has grown steadily, according to the DOE.
