HISD named to College Board’s AP District Honor Roll for gains in student access, success

District, placed on list for first time, is among 447 across U.S. and Canada to earn distinction

The Houston Independent School District is one of 447 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 8th Annual AP District Honor Roll, a first for the district.

To be included on the 8th Annual Honor Roll, HISD had to increase the number of students participating in AP since 2015 while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. The district has more than doubled that number since 2007. Reaching these goals shows that HISD is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP.

“I am very proud of our students and staff for achieving this distinction,” Superintendent Richard Carranza said. “This honor is yet another example of the district’s commitment to offering rigorous options to all our students that we believe prepare them for their next level of education.”

National data from 2017 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. HISD is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

Inclusion on the 8th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2015 to 2017, looking across 37 AP exams, including world language and culture. In order to be included on the Honor Roll, districts had to:

  • Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts, at least 6 % in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;
  • Increase or maintain the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increase or maintain the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students scoring 3+ on at least one AP Exam; and
  • Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2017 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2015 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

The complete 8th Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/score-reports-data/awards/honor-roll