Four Schools Among Top 20 Advanced Placement Schools in State

For the sixth year in a row, all five comprehensive high schools at Des Moines Public Schools are listed among the state’s top 50 high schools on the Iowa Advanced Placement Index.

The Iowa AP Index, compiled and released by the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education at the University of Iowa, ranks how well Iowa high schools provide students with the opportunity to take college-level Advanced Placement courses. The rankings are based on the number of AP exams taken by students compared to the number of graduates from the spring of 2017.

Four DMPS high schools are among the state’s top 20 with Roosevelt being ranked 6th followed by North (15), Lincoln (17) and Hoover (19).

In addition, while “magnet schools” are not ranked in the Top 50 list, Central Academy was once again singled out for special mention by the Belin-Blank Center as a leader in providing Advanced Placement opportunities for students. Central Academy has been recognized as a state and national leader in teaching AP courses for more than three decades.

“Both our students and teachers deserve a great deal of credit over the past several years for stepping up to the challenge of taking and teaching college-level courses,” said Superintendent Tom Ahart. “Our work to expand AP courses, making them available to more students throughout Des Moines, is just one example of how DMPS is becoming the national model for urban education.”

According to the most recent Iowa AP Index, DMPS high schools are ranked as follows:

• Roosevelt is ranked 6th in the state, and has been among the top 50 high schools every year since the AP Index was created in 2005. The school ranked 4th in 2017, 2nd in 2016, 4th in 2015 and 2014, and 7th in 2013.
• North is ranked 15th on this year’s AP Index, down from last year’s 11th position. North was as high as 4th in 2016, and came in at 16th in 2015, 18th in 2014 and 28th in 2013, its first year on the AP Index.
• Lincoln is ranked 17th in the state, down slightly from 15th last year, its highest-ever ranking on the AP Index. Lincoln was ranked 18th in 2016, 20th in 2015, 27th in 2014 and 30th in 2013, which was the first time since 2006 that the school was on the AP Index.
• Hoover is ranked 19th this year, down slightly from its position of 17th the past two years. Hoover has been among the top 50 high schools ten of the past eleven years.
• East is ranked 50th on this year’s AP Index, down slightly from being 44th last year and 41st in 2016. East was 21st in 2015, 45th in 2014, and 36th in 2013, its first year on the AP Index.

DMPS has put a significant effort over the past few years into expanding AP course offerings at all five comprehensive high schools. Enrollment in AP courses has more than quadrupled and the number of AP exams taken by DMPS students has increased two-and-a-half times in the past six years.

“DMPS has been very deliberate in our work to remove barriers that may have existed to AP courses and providing greater access to this college-level coursework for all high school students,” said Amber Graeber, Advanced Placement Coordinator for Des Moines Public Schools. “Our goal of increasing AP course offerings, AP enrollment and AP exam participation is being realized.”

The following table shows the number of AP exams taken at all five comprehensive high schools plus Central Academy in each of the past seven years:

In 2018, more than 2,800 AP exams were given at Des Moines Public Schools.

The College Board created the Advanced Placement program in 1955 to offer a college-level curriculum and examination to high school students. Many colleges and universities provide credit to students who score a 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) on the AP exam.

Additional information about the 2018 Iowa AP Index can be found at www.iowaapindex.org.