SUPERINTENDENT LUNA ANNOUNCES AP SCHOLARS

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna announced today that two Idaho high school students received the College Board State AP Scholar Award based on their outstanding performance on the 2011 Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Lydia Chen of Boise, who attended Centennial High School, and Garrett Stauffer of Boise, who attended Boise High School, are among 117 students nationwide to receive this honor.

“Congratulations to Lydia and Garrett. I am proud of these Idaho students and excited their hard work has been recognized nationally with such a prestigious award,” Superintendent Luna said. “Taking AP and dual credit courses are great ways for Idaho high school students to challenge themselves academically while getting a head start on postsecondary education. Through Students Come First, we are working to ensure these opportunities are available to every student.”

The College Board confers the AP Scholars distinction on the top male and female students in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP exams, and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP exams taken.

The College Board’s AP program provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school and to earn college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP exams. In 2011, 3.4 million exams were taken by nearly 2 million students at over 18,000 high schools. In Idaho last year, students took 8,120 AP exams. Nearly 70 percent of Idaho students received scores of 3 or higher on a five-point scale, which potentially qualifies them for credit, advanced placement or both at colleges and universities worldwide.

Lydia Chen is now studying at Harvard University. Garrett Stauffer is now studying at the University of Idaho.