WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From WPHS Guidance Center. October 9, 2008 UPDATED October 10, 2008: Lesley Tompkins, Director of Guidance and Counseling for White Plains High School delivered a report on Advanced Placement Programs (enabling students to obtain college credit based on successful passing of Advanced Placement Exams) Monday evening to the Board of Education showing the number of WPHS students taking the courses accelerated at four times the rate of  the rest of the state. White Plains students also scored higher than the New York State Average in the passing score range.

Ms. Tompkins, speaking with WPCNR Thursday, said that with 67% of the 416 students taking Advanced Placement Exams in 2008 passing with a 3,4, or 5 score that meant 278 of them received some level of college credit. She explained that the total college credits for these passing scores depends on the school.

 Between 1993 and 2008, the report shows, White Plains increased from 116 students taking 154 exams in 1993 to 416 students taking 716 exams in 2008, an increase of 259%.  By contrast the number of students taking AP tests state wide increased only 145%. (A total 46,231 New York State students took69,386 exams in 1993 grew to 113,368 students taking 193,014 exams in 2008)

Ms. Tompkins said “The AP program in White Plains is thriving. Depsite the significant increase in the number of students taking APs and the number of APs offered, when you examine the reference tables, there is not a significant decline in the percentage of students scoring a 3,4 or 5 on the exams. In many of the tests we consistently score higher than the global averages in this range of scores. In 2007 when scores of all students in New York are considered 67% of White Plains students scored a 3,4,or 5 on the exams, while 65% of all New York students was the average. In seven of the past 11 years, White Plains achieved at a higher level than the New York State average in this score range.”

Advanced Placement Courses are usually taken in the Junior year, however Ms. Tompkins did not have the advanced placement students  broken down by class.