MOULTRIE, Ga. — Colquitt County High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) program reached a new high-water mark this past year when the College Board named 30 local students as AP Scholars, the most in the school’s history, and five students were recognized for excellence in the AP Capstone program.

Last year’s class valedictorian Elizabeth Funderburk was named an AP Scholar with Distinction for earning an average score of 3.88 across all AP exams taken and receiving scores of 3 or higher on seven AP exams over the course of her high school career.

Eight students were named AP Scholars with Honor for earning an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students include Caleb Hall, Pierce Horton, Kobe Kenney, Patricia Mitchell, Logan Moore, Oswaldo Padilla, Noah Rivera, and Brandon Yates.

Twenty-one students qualified as AP Scholars for completing three or more AP exams with scores of 3 or higher: Ramya Aikens, Mackenzie Blair, Kelsee Brady, Parker Bullard, Sugeli Gachuz, Samantha Hall, Fletcher Kenney, Lori King, Sam Kundi, Brady Mathis, Brandon McBride, Zachary Moncrief, Katherine Monroy, Erick Perez, Eva Portillo, Wesley Smith, Matthew Taylor, Rebecca Viohl, Noah Whitaker, Mackenzie Yates, and Vicky Zhang.

Ramya Aikens and Patricia Mitchell received additional recognition for earning the school’s first AP Capstone Diplomas by scoring 3 or higher on their AP Seminar and Research exams and four additional AP exams. Sam Kundi, Brooke Taylor, and Vicky Zhang received the AP Capstone certificate for scoring 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and Research.

The College Board’s AP program provides willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school and earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams, according to a press release from Colquitt County Schools.

AP Capstone is a diploma program based on two-year long AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Rather than teaching subject-specific content, these courses develop students’ skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting.

Colquitt County High School and Camden County High School are the only two schools south of Macon offering the program.

AP exams are developed by university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring alignment with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts and research institutions. More than 3,600 colleges and universities annually receive AP scores, and most four-year colleges in the United States provide credit, advanced placement, or both for qualifying exam scores.

During 2017-2018 school year, Colquitt County gave 430 exams to 247 students, which is 134 exams more than were given in the county five years ago. The district has also seen its number of AP Scholars more than double from 12 in 2014 to 30 in 2018.

This school year local students have access to 23 different AP courses at Colquitt County High School and C.A. Gray Junior High School: Biology, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Computer Science Principles, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, Human Geography, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Music Theory, Physics I, Psychology, Research, Seminar, Spanish Language and Culture, Statistics, Studio Art: Drawing, Studio Art: 2D, Studio Art: 3D, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, and World History.