Roanoke County is among 12 Virginia school divisions recognized by the College Board for increasing access to Advanced Placement courses while also increasing achievement on AP tests, according to the Virginia Department of Education .

The county is the only system in the Roanoke and New River valleys to earn the distinction and joins 539 school systems across the country making the College Board’s AP honor roll.

A report issued by the College Board on Wednesday shows the percentage of Virginia students taking AP courses and qualifying for college credit on AP exams continues to increase. Still, Virginia dropped from third in the nation on achievement of AP tests to fifth.

“The percentage of Virginia high school students accepting the challenge of AP courses and examinations continues to increase, as does the achievement of our students on the tests,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright said. “But AP participation must increase at a greater rate for Virginia to remain competitive with states that are investing resources for this purpose.”

Weather Journal

21 hours ago