Bandera ISD received the results from the CollegeBoard for AP exams taken by Bandera High School students during the 2008-2009 school year. At Bandera High School, all students are permitted to enroll in an AP course with the requirement that an AP exam is taken by the student at the conclusion of the course. The cost of the AP exam is covered by the school district, eliminating any financial equity issues a student or their parents may have.

The AP Program enables students to take college-level courses and exams, and to earn college credit or placement while still in high school. The majority of AP exams consist of dozens of multiple-choice questions that are scored by machine, as well as free-response questions (essays, translations, problems, oral responses) that are scored by college faculty and AP teachers using scoring standards and rubrics developed by college and university faculty. The composite score for each AP Exam is converted to a grade of 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1. An AP Exam grade of 5 is equivalent to an A in the corresponding college course; a grade of 4 is equivalent to grades of A-, B+ and B; and a grade of 3 is equivalent to grades of B-, C+ and C. To earn college credit, a student needs an advanced score for 3, 4, or 5.

Since 2007, the percentage of students taking AP courses at Bandera High School has increased from 24% to 32.5%, based on an enrollment of 803 in 2007 and 770 in 2009. The percentage of AP students who received an advanced score of 3, 4, or 5 has also increased over that time period from 19.6% in 2007 to 49.4% in 2009.

“I cannot complement our students and teachers enough for their great performance this year”, stated Dr. Kevin Dyes, Superintendent of Schools. “Our goal as educators is to challenge our students to the highest level as we prepare them for their future”.