Eastern Regional High School expands number of students taking AP exams, PSATs, assessments
Eastern Regional High School wants more students enrolling in Advanced Placement classes and participating in AP exams, and, according district supervisor of guidance Jason Susko, the district is achieving that goal.
At the recent meeting of Eastern’s Board of Education, Susko presented an update on standardized testing at the high school that included data regarding AP courses and exams.
Susko categorized AP classes and exams as the highest level of instruction offered at Eastern based on the nationwide AP curriculum, effectively making them college-level classes instructed at the high school.
Susko said the classes are rigorous and time intensive, and at the end of each class in May, students take a culminating AP exam, where students will score on a one to five scale.
Many colleges and universities across the country will give students credits in lieu of having taken an entry level class at that institution if the students score a three, four or five on the AP exam of a particular subject.
From 2014 to 2015, Eastern increased the number of students taking AP tests by 57, from 275 to 332.
Some of those students also took multiple exams, leading to the total number of exams taken by students at 636, an increase from 532 taken the previous year.
Eighty-five percent of students at Eastern scored a three or higher on the tests, with 24 percent scoring the highest possible score of five.
Susko said the scores were evidence that students at Eastern were able to handle the challenge of rigorous classwork, and it was a testament to teachers taking an increased pool of students and still having scores reflect students learning and achieving in those courses.
“We’re very proud of these scores, and we want to grow those and continue those, and we think we’re off to a great start for this year,” Susko said.
Susko also spoke about the PSAT standardized test the district recently administered to all sophomore and junior students.
Susko said almost 1,100 students participated in the test, which was an increase of almost 150 students from the previous administration of the test the prior year.
Susko also said this year a goal of the guidance department was to expand the test and
provide more opportunity to freshmen.
He noted the PSATs hold more weight now with changes to state legislation that allow PSAT scores to be used to fulfill a graduation requirement, something which used to be fulfilled through the High School Proficiency Assessment that is no longer given to students throughout the state.
Susko said with the income of the newer Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, the state is pursuing different avenues to allow students to achieve graduation proficiencies through standardized testing.
“The PSATs have an increased importance to our students in terms of graduation, so we want to grow the pool of participants each year, and I think we got off to a good start this year by increasing the number of students,” Susko said.
Susko also reviewed Eastern’s SAT scores, which have traditionally been used by colleges and universities during the application process. Students at Eastern were about 10 percent higher than the average for the state and country in critical reading, mathematics and writing.
Susko said the ACT, another test used for higher education admission purposes, was also gaining popularity at Eastern and throughout the state, as colleges and universities start to accept either exam.
According to Susko, last year, 102 seniors took the ACT test out of 481 graduates, with Eastern students once again higher than the state average in all the test subjects of English, mathematics, reading and science.
Those 102 seniors were an increase of 10 from the previous year.
