State Superintendent Praises AP Students at Roosevelt

For the third straight year, Maryland received top honors Wednesday for producing higher rates of passing scores on Advanced Placement (AP) tests taken by than anywhere else in the nation.

The occasion prompted an appearance by State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick and other local officials at , which was singled out for also showing high rates of success among black AP test-takers in biology.

Last year, 26.4 percent of scored a 3 or better on at least one AP test during their high school tenure, according to College Board, the organization that both administers the tests and produces the annual report. Mississipi trailed all states, with a pass rate at 4.4 percent.

Statewide, nearly 10 percent of black students received a 3 or higher on their AP exams. That’s the fifth highest percentage among black students nationwide, according to the Maryland State Department of Education.

AP classes, which under the county’s proposed fiscal 2012 budget includes funding for 44 full-time AP employees, are offered in variety of subjects and often lead to college credit for those who score a 3 or better on the AP exams. The  exams are graded on a scale of 1 to 5.

In tandem with a small group of College Board representatives and a handful of other local officials, including Board of Education Member Peggy Higgins (District 2), Grasmick sat in on two AP classes.

“What did you think?” William Manion, an English teacher, asked his class of 27 students pondering an 18th-century letter composed by the English author Lady Mary Wortley Montegue.

“Well,” responded Emily, “I said that the tone was very stern, yet at the same time — as you read through it — it also seems rather ominous because she gives warnings about how when a woman is learned she’s often frowned upon. And it’s very risky, especially during this time period.”

In another classroom, officials watched AP biology teacher Jennifer Massagli illustrate cell biology to her students through the use of colored pipe cleaners.

“So what you want to pair up are the same colors. A chromosome is one, the copy is a chromatid,” Massagli said. “Think about it as having two of the same pairs of shoes. A left shoe and a right shoe is the pair of chromosomes, the two left shoes is a chromosome and a chromatid.”

Following that sit-in, Higgins quipped, “You know, of all things becoming a school board member, I knew I was going to learn a lot but I didn’t know it was going to be about chromosomes and chromotids.”

Grasmick also seemed pleased with the sit-ins. “Well I saw a teacher who was absolutely expert in presenting a difficult subject to students and making it relevant and responding to their questions as they were thinking about, ‘How does this apply to sickle cell anemia?’” 

Following a presentation of the College Board’s report, Grasmick could be found thanking another small group of AP standouts for making Maryland No. 1.

“Maryland is very proud of you,” she said. “You are our ambassadors.”