In 2007, every Howard County high school outperformed the national average of students scoring high enough to receive college credit on the Advanced Placement exams, according to results released last week.
Nearly every county high school exceeded the state average of 22.4 percent. Only Howard (18.5 percent), Long Reach (18.9 percent) and Hammond (20.9 percent) did not exceed the state average.
Howard County shared its data with the public in November during a school board meeting. The College Board, which administers the AP exam, released national statistics Wednesday.
River Hill topped the county with a 47.2 percent ranking on the equity and excellence index, which calculates the number of students who took an AP course and scored at least a 3 on the AP exam. Centennial was second with 46.8 percent, followed by Mount Hebron (35.8 percent), Wilde Lake (29.5), Glenelg (28.5), Reservoir (25.4), Atholton (25.1), and Oakland Mills (23).
In addition to giving students a head start on college, educators promote the AP program because it promotes professional development among teachers, better prepares students for college by giving some a jump start financially and encourages school systems to spread equity and access to all students.
County educators have worked to increase the number of students taking the test. Last year, 2,574 students completed an AP exam, compared with 2,404 the year before.
All Howard County schools identify students for AP courses during their sophomore year when the school system pays for all to take the PSATs.
The county will offset the costs of AP exams with money provided through the College Board, said Lisa Boarman, school system facilitator for school counselors.
"We have been taking as much money as they give us," Boarman said. "We don't want any student not to take the test because they cannot afford it."
Homework presentation
Are you the parent of a teenager who struggles with homework and classwork? If you are, do you overstep boundaries and impede on your child's academic self reliance? Is this behavior leading to family tension and conflict?
On Wednesday, a presentation titled "Whose Homework is it Anyway?: Promoting Academic Self-Reliance during the Teen Years" is intended to provide answers to such thorny questions.
Brad Sachs, a Columbia-based psychologist, will talk to parents at Long Reach High about students learning to handle responsibility independently. The event starts at 7 p.m. Sachs' presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
The event is being sponsored by HC DrugFree, a nonprofit organization based in the county.
An increasing number of parents are hindering their children's academic growth when they attempt to "help" motivate their children, according to Sachs. This can manifest itself in the form of parents who place extreme pressure on their children and parents who help complete their children's assignments.
"The ways in which parents assist, shepherd and guide their child make it more likely that their children will not progress or grow," Sachs said. "They will actually undercut their growth."
A widening economic gap has resulted in increased number of parents putting more pressures on their children, the psychologist said.
"Parents feel that if their child is not at the top they will lose out," said Sachs, who has written numerous books on child and family development, including The Good Enough Child and The Good Enough Teen. Sachs will sign books after the presentation.
john-john.williams@baltsun.com