The number of Advanced Placement exams taken by students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District increased substantially this year, showing promise after pandemic-era declines.
Also on the rise: The number of AP exams taken that resulted in a score that can earn college credit for students.
That news was shared Tuesday by Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, during a meeting in which he and school board members formally recognized students who were honored through the College Board Recognition Program.
The College Board organization produces the AP courses and exams, as well as the SAT.
Vitti reported that 2,181 exams were taken during the 2023-24 school year, up from 1,707 during the 2018-19 school year. The number of exams with college credit-earning scores also rose to 656, from 364. Between 2020 and 2022, when the pandemic disrupted education for many students, numbers dropped.
“What College Board is trying to do is recognize increased access in schools and districts for students who have typically not had access to Advanced Placement,” Vitti said. “This year, we have a record number of students that have made this list of recognition in different programs.”
The College Board’s National Recognition Programs awards academic honors to high-performing, underrepresented students in five categories: the National African American Recognition Program, National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program, National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program and – beginning this year – the National First-Generation Recognition Program.
Cass Technical High School earned the most awards, with 54 students in the National African American Program, 19 in First-Generation Program and nine in the National Hispanic Program. Renaissance High School came in second with 55 students recognized in the African American and First-Generation programs. A total of 162 students were recognized.
Other DPSCD schools represented for the 2023-34 school year include:
- Northwestern High School
- Crockett Midtown High School
- The School at Marygrove
- Detroit International Academy for Young Women
- Detroit School of Arts
- Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School
- Southeastern High School
- Western International High School
AP classes offer some of the most challenging, rigorous curriculum students can take, giving them a taste of the workload to anticipate after high school and, in some cases, even college credit.
Since Vitti assumed control of DPSCD in 2017, he has made it a priority to expand access to AP classes in high schools across the city, including enlisting “AP mentors,” Detroit students enrolled in the courses, to promote the benefits to peers in high schools across the city.
Vitti said that the importance of the expansion is to expose students to college-level content and give them an opportunity to receive college credit.
“Oftentimes, when people think about Advanced Placement in DPSCD, they only think about Cass Tech or Renaissance,” Vitti said. “But this is happening throughout the district, including our neighborhood schools and expanding access in our exam schools.
“But even if they (students) don’t get college credit, they’re still exposed to the academic rigor that comes along with taking college classes.”
In addition to the National Recognition Awards, College Board offered schools awards in college culture, credit, and optimization. Renaissance received the platinum award for college culture, where 98% of students in the graduating class took an AP exam at any point in high school. Northwestern achieved the gold award, with 65%.
Renaissance also received the gold award for college credit, where 39% of students in the graduating class scored at least a 3 on any AP exam in high school. Cass Tech was awarded bronze for “college optimization,” which means at least 2% of students in the graduating class took five or more AP exams in high school and at least one exam was taken in ninth or 10th grade.
Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.
