Barbara Goleman Senior High School (Goleman), in conjunction with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), held an assembly to recognize students who received a score of three or above on Advanced Placement (AP) exams in English, math and/or science. Goleman's three year partnership with the non-profit organization began a year ago, with teachers attending curriculum trainings held across the nation.
Teachers attended professional development in the summer and additional trainings in the fall and spring. Students were also provided with support through three Saturday study sessions held for each subject. Vetted content-area experts conducted the study groups.
Part of NMSI's objectives is to increase participation and success in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) related AP courses. Each student who received a qualifying score in any of these exams earned $100.
Collectively, students earned an impressive $16,000. In addition to distributing checks to students, attendees at the recognition ceremony were also informed of the impressive results of Goleman's 2018 AP scores. This year’s results show that the school increased qualifying scores (three or higher) in AP English, math and science exams by 62 percent over the previous year. The national increase in this category was 5.6 percent and the state of Florida increase was 4 percent.
When comparing an increase of qualifying scores with Latino students, Goleman saw an increase of 53 percent, outperforming the national percentage of 8 percent and the state percentage of six. Goleman AP results also showed a significant increase in African American students when compared to the nation and state, with Goleman at 300 percent, the national at 5.4 and state at one percent. When it came to female students, Goleman again outperformed the nation and state, with Goleman at 67 percent, national at 4.6 and state at three percent.
Overall, the partnership between Goleman and NMSI has been very successful and yielded positive results.