Advanced Placement (AP) classes at BVNW allow students to expose themselves to college-level preparatory courses, before the day comes when they leave high school to face the real world.

At the end of the year, they must complete an AP Exam, a test that shows not only how well a student knows the material, but how well they can analyze it. The Blue Valley District administrators have been working to promote the learning portion of these classes, and also increase students’ scores on the exam, with a plan of action over the course of five years.

“The five year plan [for the district] was that ninety percent of the kids who take the test will earn a 3, 4, or 5,” BVNW Principal Amy Murphy said. “The ninety percent is what each of the five schools are striving for.”

According to Murphy, BVNW’s scores several years ago were significantly lower than in previous years, across all courses of the exams. Prior to 2012, the typical percent of students passing their individual exams was in the low-70s range. The district decided in 2010 that a goal would be put in place to gradually increase the passing average to ninety percent. This past May when the most recent AP tests were taken, BVNW’s percent of students who earned a 3 or above increased to 80.6 percent, falling just 0.4 percent short of the district’s goal.

The teachers for each individual subject met on three late arrival mornings to discuss what had been going well during instruction and what had not been going well.

“On the other Thursday mornings, if we had more than two teachers, they would plan and work together so that the kids were getting the same content,” Murphy said. “It didn’t matter if you were in Mrs. Finical’s class or Mrs. Stohlmann’s class; the same thing was happening in both classes.”

AP Calculus AB teacher Jamie Finical said 21 of her students exceeded the goal of passing with a score of 3 or higher in the previous test.

“For my classes,” Finical said, “The average score was a 4.3.”

AP Physics teacher Theresa Rudnick also stated that her 26 students who took the test reached a similar score, averaging 4.18 out of the possible 5.

While tests of certain subjects exceeded the passing score, the overall average of BVNW’s AP scores falls just short of the aim for 90 percent. The district and faculty will continue to work with students to achieve this goal.