Terrebonne schools soar high in college courses

The number of Terrebonne Parish high school students enrolling in college-level courses has nearly quadrupled in two years.

The Terrebonne Parish School District last week released the number of public high school students enrolled in advanced placement courses for college credit during the 2014-15 school year. The figures show a massive increase in each of the last two years.

In the 2012-13 year, 167 students in the parish public schools were enrolled in the advanced placement courses. In 2013-14,338 students enrolled in these courses, making for a 102 percent increase. That amount jumped even further to 661 students in the 2014-15 year, marking a 95 percent gain on the 2013-14 numbers. Thus, the number of students taking AP courses has

risen by 296 percent from the 2012-13 year to last year’s number.

These leaps in enrollment are the result of a concerted effort in the parish to encourage students to take more challenging courses, according to Terrebonne Parish Superintendent of Schools Philip Martin.

“We’re doing a better job of stressing the importance of rigorous courses. The kids are responding favorably. The most significant beneficiary is the student body,” Martin said.

According to Martin, the plan to steer students to AP courses resulted from self-examination within the school board.

“We recognized we were probably short-changing our kids by not emphasizing these classes enough. So we started implementing this even more,” Martin said.

Terrebonne Parish School Board member Richard Jackson said he finds the development encouraging.

“It’s a good indicator that our teachers are doing a good job of preparing our students for those upper-level courses at college,” Jackson said.

Martin does not see a connection between the jump in AP enrollment and the half-cent sales tax approved in December that will pay for salary increases for teachers and support personnel.

“This is an initiative not connected to the tax increase. Student success is directly connected to teacher quality. Someone could make that connection, but we are not making it,” Martin said.

However, there are financial considerations to be accounted for, he said. When a student enrolls in an advanced placement course, additional charges are incurred. The district picks up all of these charges.

At the same time, more students enrolled in AP courses could translate to more funding from the state. Martin said that performance on AP exams is considered in the formula the state uses in granting money to school districts. However, Martin did not have specifics on what AP scores of three or higher contribute to a formula that also weighs graduation rates and ACT scores, among other things.

“In terms of calculating that, if you got to 200 students, it could be a significant difference,” Martin said.

Advanced placement courses allow students to earn college credit while still in high school. Due to this opportunity, they are designed to be some of the most challenging courses available at the high school level.

At the end of the school year, students are required to take an exam for each advanced placement class they took. The tests are scored on a scale from one to five. Students who score at least a three qualify for college credit in the course taken.

In Terrebonne Parish public high schools, 138 students scored a three or better last school year, meaning about 21 percent of students in AP courses qualified for college credit. In the 2013-14 year, 81 students qualified for college credit, making up 24 percent of the students in those courses.

Martin says that though the percentage of students who qualified decreased, the benefits of AP courses go far beyond just earning college credit.

“Even if you don’t make a three, you’re going to be better prepared for college,” he said.

Jackson says that the numbers reflect a trend of more students in the parish with their sights set squarely on higher education.

“Those that are in these classes are in all probability students who are planning for college. They’ll be ready for college-level courses,” Jackson says.

In addition to the students preparing themselves for college, the schools themselves must prepare for the rapidly growing demand for AP courses. The school board prepares teachers and pays for their training to teach these classes. According to him, the school district has no plans on setting a cap on the number of students enrolled in AP courses. The only limit is the limit of “common sense.”

“We’re not going to put 200 kids in one class together,” Martin said.

Martin says the district is anticipating even greater Advanced Placement participation for this school year, although he does not have concrete numbers for enrollment.

“This is a moving target. By Wednesday we’ll have a good number,” Martin said.

However, the rapid increase in the last few years has already fostered a culture of achievement among students in the schools.

Martin said, “The more kids see other kids doing it, they will want to do it. It serves as a sign of encouragement.”

Terrebonne Parish students are doing better on Advanced Placement tests, showing more of them are interested in furthering their studies at the college level.

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