AP Tests in Milford: A Quiet Success Story

Originally posted as an announcement on Milford Patch by school board candidate Mark Ahrens.

The quality of Milford’s education system has been receiving a great deal of scrutiny.

More recently, this has come into sharp focus as CMT/CAPT test scores are down (along with all of Connecticut) and graduation and college admission rates are not where they should be.

Amongst all this educational disquiet, however, some really positive news has gone mostly unnoticed.

Milford’s High Schools have had a tremendous expansion in the number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes and tests.

Here are some of the specifics:

• 475 high school students took an AP course in 2013, a 57 percent increase over 2012 and 62 percent higher than the goal set for the school district by the Board of Education.
• A total of 825 AP tests were taken in 2013, an increase of 67 percent over 2012. Foran High School had a 61percent increase and Jonathan Law had a 73 percent increase.
• 510 AP test scores were 3 or higher, an increase of 47 percent compared to 2012.
• The number of AP “Scholars” increased 25 percent (96 in 2013 compared to 77 in 2012). An AP Scholar is someone who, at a minimum, has scored 3 or higher on 3 AP tests.
• Milford’s EER ratio, which is the standard “apples-to-apples” method to compare AP results across school districts and across time, increased 25 percent compared to 2012. Milford’s scores are now slightly higher than the Connecticut state average and substantially above the US average.

Milford’s schools are not resting on their AP laurels.

In the current school year, over 1,100 AP tests are expected to be taken; a 30-plus percent increase over the already-impressive 2013 levels. While this will stretch capacity, it is being proactively planned for, including higher levels of professional development for AP teachers.

Milford’s parents and taxpayers are rightfully concerned that standardized test scores and other objective metrics have plateaued or are down. These areas deserve scrutiny and a time-sensitive action plan. However, we should also take a moment to celebrate when good things happen.

Milford’s AP program is one of these good things.