Bernards High School was recently named a gold member of the AP School Honor Roll. To receive such an award means that Bernards has cultivated college readiness, encouraged students to attend college, and fostered opportunities for college credit through College Board’s AP program.
In order to qualify for the minimum distinction of AP School Honor Roll, a school must meet criteria in three areas: college culture, college credit, and college optimization. College culture—as defined by College Board—is met when 40% or more of the graduating class takes at least one AP exam during their high school career. College credit—as defined by College Board—is met when 25% or more of students in the graduating class receive a three or higher on their AP exams. And college optimization—as College Board defines it—is met when at least 2% of the graduating class takes at least five AP exams during their high school career, with at least one exam being taken during ninth or tenth grade. Schools must also be located in the U.S., U.S. territories, or in Canada and provide a twelfth grade education.
As College Board offers four different distinctions of this award (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum), there are different criteria that must be met to achieve each distinction. To qualify for gold, college culture changes from 40% to 65%, college credit from 25% to 35%, and college optimization from 2% to 10%. In other words, at least 65% of Bernards’ Class of 2023 took at least one AP exam, at least 35% received a three or higher, and at least 10% took five or more AP exams.
This award is a huge accomplishment for Bernards. “The AP School Honor Roll Award clearly shows the dedication of our staff and students, but to me, the most important aspect is how seriously we treat access to these courses,” shares Mr. Catelli, Bernards’ AP Coordinator. “Schools receive the AP School Honor Roll Award by increasing access for all to these courses and our gold ranking demonstrates how Bernards values this commitment.”
There are plenty of reasons as to why the dedicated students of Bernards take AP classes, and these reasons are beyond the fact that students might be able to receive college credit, or that these classes help boost students’ GPAs. Mei Salemi ‘24, who has taken multiple AP courses throughout her high school career shares that “it’s important to emphasize the AP classes and it’s great that our school offers them, because with competitive college admissions, they’re looking for students who take challenging classes.” She feels that her AP classes have simulated “a college course and [provided her with] a more extensive knowledge about subjects,” as she delves “deeper into areas of interest.”
Taking these challenging courses has truly cultivated college readiness among the BHS student body, and especially among the Class of 2023. Bernards hopes to foster this dedication and readiness among students moving forward, and is already paving the way to earn this recognition again next year.
