Record number of LPS students earn top scores on AP exams

September 20, 2024

Lincoln Public Schools students are charting successful courses for their futures by taking Advanced Placement tests in record numbers.
 
Students at all eight high schools and the Science Focus Program have mapped out many winning pathways with A-plus efforts on AP exams. Hundreds of students earned AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor and AP Scholar with Distinction recognition for compiling top scores on their tests. Seven members of the Class of 2024 also captured the prestigious AP Capstone Diploma for their research-based work.
 
Representatives of College Board, the agency that oversees AP programs nationwide, announced in September that 210 LPS students secured the AP Scholar Award. There were 112 AP Scholar with Honor recipients and 161 AP Scholar with Distinction winners.
 
Southeast High School teachers David Nebel and Colten White said those positive numbers are directly related to the emphasis placed on honors courses across LPS. The school district added AP Research and AP Seminar classes in 2021-22, which are both required for the AP Capstone program. There are also many other AP and differentiated honors classes available for LPS students in grades 6-12.
 
“It’s important that we strive for all students to take at least one AP class in a subject that interests them,” said White, who leads Southeast’s AP Research class. “We know that taking advanced classes prepares students for life after high school no matter what their plans entail. Encouraging all students to take at least one AP class also advances the LPS goal of equitable outcomes.”
 
“At LSE, students enrolled in the AP program receive a college-level experience, and our goal is to ensure that students don’t just go to college, but are prepared to excel once they arrive there,” said Nebel, who guides the school’s AP Seminar course. “I think accepting the challenge of any AP course for LPS students is the best thing they can do to ensure future success in their post-high school education.”
 
Dawn Mazzie and Bethany Brunsman said it was inspiring to watch local AP exam participation rates increase over the past decade. The LPS assessment/evaluation specialists provided statistics that showed how students are making the most of AP opportunities.
 
A total of 875 LPS students took AP exams in the 2013-14 academic year, which was 8.5 percent of the total high school population. There were 1,016 students who took AP exams in 2016-17, and those numbers surged to 1,572 and 1,575 by 2020-21 and 2021-22.
 
The past two years have seen an even greater increase. There were 1,802 students who completed AP tests in 2022-23 and 2,182 in 2023-24. Those totals represented 13.9 and 16.8 percent of the total LPS high school enrollment.

Increasing enrollment in honors courses for all students with additional emphasis on historically underrepresented student groups across LPS is one of the goals outlined in the 2024-29 strategic plan. 
 
Mazzie said the school district’s strategy of encouraging students to take high-level courses is bearing fruit. The ability for students to earn the AP Capstone Diploma is just one byproduct of that hard work.
 
“The addition of the AP Seminar and Research classes the last few years has been a result of LPS’ efforts as part of the All Means All Action Plan and the new LPS Strategic Plan to increase the percentage of students who enroll in honors courses,” Mazzie said. “It’s exciting to see the addition of these courses leading to students achieving this additional honor.”
 
Students can earn scores of one to five on AP exams each May. Tests are usually two to three hours in length and include multiple-choice and free-response questions.
 
Students who post scores of 3.0 or higher on three or more AP exams earn the AP Scholar Award. The AP Scholar with Honor Award is granted to students who post an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams they take and scores of 3.0 or higher on four or more tests. The AP Scholar with Distinction Award is given to students who receive an average score of at least 3.50 on all AP exams and scores of 3.0 or higher on five or more tests.
 
Students at East (81), Lincoln High (15), North Star (15), Northeast (9), Southeast (34), Southwest (43), Standing Bear (3), Northwest (7) and Science Focus Program (3) earned AP Scholar designations.
 
Students at East (38), Lincoln High (4), North Star (3), Northeast (8), Southeast (21), Southwest (36), Northwest (1) and Science Focus Program (1) captured AP Scholar with Honor recognition.
 
Students at East (78), Lincoln High (2), North Star (6), Northeast (5), Southeast (36) and Southwest (34) pocketed AP Scholar with Distinction designations.
 
Students earn the AP Capstone Diploma by compiling scores of 3.0 or higher on both the AP Seminar and AP Research exams and on four additional AP tests. There were six students from Southeast and one from North Star who collected the honor this year.

Nebel and White said AP Capstone’s success at Southeast is a prime example of the value of honors classes. They felt AP courses would continue to fill up in future years as LPS students make them major destinations on their academic maps.
 
“These students (in AP Capstone) have conducted original research, which is a skill that most students don’t learn unless they enroll in a graduate degree program after college,” White said. “The fact that we have such a rigorous academic program at Lincoln Southeast is a testament to the academic opportunities available through LPS.”

To learn more about the 2024-29 LPS Strategic Plan, visit our website at https://home.lps.org/strategicplan/.
 
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School  Year	Total High School Enrollment (as of Oct 1)	Total # of Students in the District who took AP Exams	The % of High School Enrollment Who Took AP Exams	Total # of AP Exams Taken
2023-24	13,016	2,182	16.8%	2,982
2022-23	12,951	1,802	13.9%	2,477
2021-22	12,865	1,575	12.2%	2,233
2020-21	12,942	1,572	12.1%	2,277
2019-20	12,779	1,159	9.6%	1,771
2018-19	12,542	1,210	9.6%	1,855
2017-18	12,136	1,029	8.5%	1,586
2016-17	11,677	1,016	8.8%	1,628
2015-16	11,300	980	8.7%	1,564
2014-15	10,824	931	8.6%	1,454
2013-14	10,321	875	8.5%	1,340

 

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