John Marshall and Cameron high school officials reported higher passing rates and more students taking advanced placement exams for the 2023-24 school year.

John Marshall Assistant Principal Gavin Hartle told Marshall County Board of Education members this week that he was thrilled to see the school’s passing rate on AP tests improve from 72% last year to 75% this year. The 75% passage rate marks the school’s highest pass rate in five years.

Hartle noted that this number meant three out of every four John Marshall students who took an AP test this year scored a three or higher on the exam.

“We had quite a few AP classes that had 100% passage rates, and I know (AP Calculus) BC was a 100% passage rate, and our AP Research was a 100% passage rate,” Hartle said. “Those tests look really, really good.”

In total, 181 AP exams were taken at John Marshall, 49 more than last year’s 132. Six more students at John Marshall took an AP exam than last year, with 102 students testing versus the prior year’s 96.

According to Hartle, this is the third-highest number of exams taken over the last five years. Hartle added that dual-credit courses can lead to fewer AP tests taken at the school.

“We’re hopeful that this number will climb above 200 and continue to grow while simultaneously building that dual-credit program to give our students more options,” Hartle said.

John Marshall also saw an increase in AP Scholars, boasting 12 more than last year. Eight of these scholars were AP Scholars with Honor, eight were AP Scholars with Distinction and one earned the AP Capstone Diploma.

Cameron Counselor Kelly Pettit reported the school’s passing rate on AP tests was 28%, with 11 students passing 19 exams. The number of AP tests taken at Cameron increased by 13 from the previous year, from 77 to 90 exams. 39 Cameron students took these 90 tests.

Pettit noted the school’s passage rate went up for AP Biology, and for the first time in the school’s history, a student scored a five on the AP European History exam.

“At Cameron High School, we may not necessarily have as high of a passing rate, but we have a lot of students who try AP tests out at Cameron, whereas in big schools, they may not even try to step out of that bubble to take them,” Pettit noted. “We had a group of seniors this year that was not strong all the way through the school year, so that skewed our numbers a bit. Our junior class this year is very strong, so they are even overcompensating when there haven’t been as many seniors this year that will take AP exams.”

Pettit noted that some Cameron students are “not necessarily always straight-A students” but are still taking honors and AP courses at the school.

“We have students who are trying things for the first time as a senior and trying to push themselves because they decided they wanted to go to college all of a sudden,” Pettit said. “These students are trying to push themselves to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Pettit added that even though students may receive a two on an AP exam, they are still gaining the “work ethic, knowledge, stamina and other factors that will be beneficial to the students in college.”

“While we might not have a 75% pass rate on our AP exams, our students are still benefiting and learning,” Pettit said.

Board vice president Christie Robison said she applauded the statement, noting that her main question regarding all AP courses and dual credit classes is, “Are the students learning?”

Board president John Miller said that the bottom line for success for students in AP courses was desire and that students who may show indicators that they may not perform well in an AP class can still pass the exams.

Pettit agreed with Miller’s statement, adding that some students find homework “tedious,” so they get a lower grade on the AP course and then “blow it out of the water” on the AP exam.

“We do have students who test higher than how they perform in class,” Pettit said. “We consider all that when placing students in AP courses.”