At the recent 2-Day AP Math training at Samford University, several teachers were recognized for leading their students to exceptional success on AP exams. Teachers also participated in intensive professional development led by nationally recognized AP math trainers. A+ College Ready Math Content Director, Kitty Morgan, presented awards to teachers from across the state for beating national averages on AP exam sections, as well as for greatly increasing the number of students earning qualifying scores. A+ College Ready recently announced the results that Alabama is ranked first in the nation in qualifying score growth in AP math, science, and English exams. The following awards help illuminate how these results were achieved.
Category 1: Beat The Mean
Each of the teachers below matched or beat the national mean for student success on each subsection of the AP Exam.
AP Calculus AB
Scott Sharp – Huntsville High School
Beat the Mean on 11/11 categories
57 qualifying scores achieved out of 80 students enrolled for a 71% pass rate, and 17 students earned a 5 on the exam.
AP Calculus BC
Shaun Bardell – James Clemens High School
Beat the Mean on 11/11 categories
42 qualifying scores achieved out of 43 students enrolled for a 98% pass rate, and 5 students earned a 5 on the exam
AP Statistics
Patrick Delay – Sparkman High School
Beat the Mean on 10/10 categories
14 qualifying scores achieved out of 17 students enrolled for a 82% pass rate, and 3 students earned a 5 on the exam
AP Computer Science A
Jennifer Rountree – Bob Jones High School
Beat the Mean on 12/12 categories
14 qualifying scores achieved out of 15 students enrolled for a 93% pass rate, and 6 students earned a 5 on the exam
Category 2: Big Jumpers
These teachers had the largest increase in qualifying scores on the AP Exam from last year.
AP Calculus AB
Lance Thomas- Daphne High School; increased from 6 qualifying scores to 20.
AP Calculus BC
Ryan James- Hewitt Trussville High School; increased from 7 qualifying scores to 25. Out of an enrollment of 28, that is a 89% pass rate. Additionally, his students beat the mean on 8/11 categories, and 11 students scored a 5 on the exam.
AP Statistics
Bill Beumer- Virgil Grissom High School; increased from 27 qualifying scores to 44. His students also beat the mean on 6/10 categories, and 11 students scored a 5 on the exam.
Carrie Bates- Buckhorn High School; increased from 25 qualifying scores to 42.
AP Comp Science A
Jeff Baker- Huntsville High School; increased from 19 qualifying scores to 24. Last year Mr. Baker increased from 8 qualifying scores 19.
Category 3: Steady Increase
The following teachers have shown constant improvement over multiple years in program.
AP Calculus AB
Becky Becnel- Saraland High School 15-> 17-> 27
Mike Kantaris- Shelby County 0-> 5-> 11
AP Statistics
Shannon Shepperd- Fairhope High School 5-> 11
Category 4: Super Newbies
The following teachers have shown immense success in their first year teaching AP math.
AP Calculus AB
Nancy Hartfield- James Clemens High School; her students beat the mean on 10/11 categories. Additionally, she had 19 qualifying scores out of an enrollment 27, for a pass rate of 70%, with 7 students scoring a 5 on the exam.
AP Calculus BC
Kim Naramore – Paul W. Bryant High School; of her 10 students. 7 earned qualifying scores, they beat the mean on 4 categories, and 3 students scored a 5 on the exam.
Linda Howse – Cullman High School; all 7 of her students earned a qualifying score, and beat the mean on 4 categories.
Nancy Jennings – Enterprise High School; 7 of her 15 students earned a qualifying score, with 2 students earning a 5 on the exam.
AP Statistics
Scotty Keenan – Foley High School; in his first year he had 29 qualifying scores, with 3 students scoring a 5 on the exam.
