School Board Meeting Wrap-Up

The following is from Tuesday’s Laguna Beach School District Board of Education meeting.

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AP students doing well

Assistant Supt. Nancy Hubbell showed a presentation on Advanced Placement (AP) students and testing, which revealed that Laguna Beach High School students have more than a 90% pass rate (a score of 3 or higher).

The state average has been around 60% for the last five years, with the global average slightly lower. LBHS has consistently been about 20% higher or more than average since 2007.

The number of local students taking AP tests has grown exponentially every year, along with the pass rate and the number of exams taken. The numbers have grown from 187 students taking 363 exams in 2007 to 268 students taking 530 exams in 2011.

Hubbell also discussed how there’s been a culture shift in the way students get accepted into an AP class.

Instead of not allowing students that don’t pass placement tests or get certain grades in other classes to take AP courses, teachers are looking at the students more holistically, Hubbell said.

It has switched from placement to “informed consent,” she said.

Students do have to meet the prerequisites for the course, she said, but they can still take the course if they haven’t met all the placement criteria.

She said 30% of their junior AP Language students came from a standard 10th-grade English class.

“The goal is to give students accurate information about the rigor of the course and the workload, as well as to help them evaluate their preparation for a given AP class,” Hubbell said in an email Wednesday.

The next school board meeting is at 7 p.m. Aug. 30.