MOULTRIE, Ga. —  Colquitt County was well represented when the College Board honored 34 of its students for exceptional performances in their 2018-2019 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and selected two local teachers to serve as AP Exam Readers.

Four students in this year’s senior class were named AP Scholars with Distinction for passing at least seven AP exams with an average score of 3.5 or higher over the course of their high school careers: Austin Counts, Morgan Kenney, Brandon McBride, and Ian Small, according to a press release from the Colquitt County School System.

Five 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, the press release said. These students include recent graduates Randy Bartolon-Barrios, Pierce Horton, and Eli Whitaker, as well as current juniors Ethan Hall and Eddie Hamilton.

Twenty-two students qualified as AP Scholars for completing three or more AP exams with scores of 3 or higher: recent graduates Abigail Baker, Parker Bullard, Cameron Carr, Lillian Fagan, Caleb Hall, Katherine Monroy, Alaina Taylor, Mackenzie Yates, and Andy Zhang; current seniors Gavin Baker, Persephone Carter, Anna Beth Elliott, Kahmin Keller, Emily McCord, Erick Perez, Lucas Tostenson, Noah Whitaker, and Marlie Wingate; and current juniors Autumn Hampton, Ashley Ma, Alexys Moore, and Ryan Smith.

Morgan Kenney, Brandon McBride, and Katherine Monroy received additional recognition for earning AP Capstone Diplomas by scoring 3 or higher on their AP Seminar and Research exams and four additional AP exams. Gavin Baker, Regan Barrett, Kailie Reynolds, Noah Whitaker, and Kevin Wingate received the AP Capstone certificate for scoring 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and Research.

Additionally, the College Board selected Colquitt County High School teacher Jennifer Ballard to serve as an AP Exam Reader in English Language and Composition for a third consecutive year and C.A. Gray Junior High School teacher Justin Nelms as a reader for World History, the school system said. In exchange for scoring the exam, the teachers received paid trips to Tampa and Kansas City, respectively, and intensive professional development in their courses.

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. More than 60 high schools across the state participate, and Colquitt County High School is one of only four South Georgia schools 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.

This school year local students have access to 19 different AP courses at Colquitt County High School and C.A. Gray Junior High School: Biology, Calculus AB, Chemistry, Computer Science A, Computer Science Principles, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Music Theory, Physics C: Mechanics, Psychology, Research, Spanish Language and Culture, Statistics, Studio Art: 2D, Studio Art: 3D, U.S. Government and Politics, and World History: Modern.