Hanover High School Celebrates AP Success Amid Budget Challenges

Students excel in Advanced Placement exams as school grapples with reduced course offerings

HANOVER, MA - October 9 - Hanover High School students achieved exceptional results in Advanced Placement exams for the 2023-2024 school year, with an average score of 3.41 and 85.3% of students receiving a score of 3 or higher. The school received a silver medal from the College Board for its AP program performance.

Matthew Plummer, Curriculum Director of Hanover High School, presented the AP results to the school committee on October 9. He highlighted the school's success, noting that 224 students took a total of 457 AP exams last year.

"We were really, really happy with the effort of the students and the staff," Plummer said. "They have a lot to celebrate here."

The school offered 24 AP courses last year, with 12 of those courses achieving a 100% pass rate. Notably, the AP U.S. History course, taken primarily by sophomores, had an average score of 4.21 with a 100% pass rate for 34 students.

Plummer emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, "These are all sophomores and for most of them the first time they've taken an AP test. It's unbelievable."

Despite the impressive results, the presentation also revealed challenges facing the AP program due to budget constraints. The school has reduced AP course sections for the current academic year, limiting student access to advanced classes.

"We had to limit it," Plummer explained when discussing the reduction of AP Biology from two sections to one. "There were more students taking anatomy because of that."

Several AP courses now have larger class sizes, with some reaching 32 students. This is a significant increase from the previous year when most sections had around 20 to 22 students.

The budget cuts have also forced the school to consider offering some AP courses on an alternate-year basis. Courses such as AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science Java, AP English Literature, and AP Music Theory may not be available every year.

School committee members expressed concern about the impact of these reductions on student opportunities. Jackie Jorgenson commented, "When we start talking about rotating and only offering courses at certain times, you're limiting access for students."

Libby Corbo, another committee member, highlighted the importance of maintaining a wide range of AP offerings. "When we provide our students with the opportunity, they rise to the top. They accept the challenge, they're eager to participate and learn," she said.

The committee also discussed the long-term effects of reduced AP offerings on student preparation and college applications. Superintendent Matthew Ferron noted, "This affects all those kids. It affects their grade point average, it affects their college application, the attractiveness of their college applications."

Despite the challenges, Hanover High School remains committed to providing AP opportunities to as many students as possible. Plummer emphasized the school's efforts to accommodate student interests, even in difficult circumstances.

"We kind of bent over backwards and figured out a way to get them into a class to try to give them that opportunity," he said, referring to efforts to maintain AP language and computer science courses.

The school committee and administration acknowledged the need to address these challenges and work towards restoring and expanding AP offerings in the future. As the district navigates budget constraints, they remain focused on maintaining the high level of achievement demonstrated in this year's AP results while seeking solutions to provide more opportunities for students in the coming years.