Pictured are 14 of the 25 students named by College Board as 2016 AP Scholars. Front row: Teresa Nguyen, Billie Mills, Paige Glover, Holly Cooper, Evelyn Fagan, Hannah Thompson and Lauren Coop. Back row: Laura Ramirez, Jordan Forehand, Catalina Arnett, Gamaliel Martinez, Lyle Tostenson, Chase Perry and Blake Thompson.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The College Board has named 25 Colquitt County High School students as AP Scholars for their high performance on the 2016 Advanced Placement exams.

The “AP Scholar” designation honors students who receive qualifying scores of three or higher on three or more AP exams. Seventeen of Colquitt County’s honorees were recognized at this level.

Those students are Catalina Arnett, Elizabeth Beacham, Danielle Collum, Lauren Coop, Holly Cooper, Angel Davis, Evelyn Fagan, Jordan Forehand, Selyna Gant, Paige Glover, Gamaliel Martinez, Chase Perry, Laura Ramirez, Blake Thompson, Hannah Thompson, Delilah Wood and Michelle Zhang.

The recognition of “AP Scholar with Honor” was earned by three of the 25 local students, which means the students received scores of three or higher on four or more AP exams with an average score of 3.25 or higher: Alex Sparks, Karston Spradley and Lyle Tostenson.

Students named as “AP Scholars with Distinction” received qualifying scores of three or higher on five or more exams with an average score of 3.5 or higher. Five Colquitt County students earned this honor: Will Barber, Will Hall, Billie Mills, Teresa Nguyen and Seth Wright.

Additionally, recent Colquitt County graduate Seth Wright was named a “National AP Scholar,” one of College Board’s highest honors, which indicates a student who received scores of four or higher on at least eight AP exams with an average score of 4.0 on all exams over the course of the student’s high school career.

Colquitt County High School Principal Stephanie Terrell said increased awards for AP students is a goal for the school.

“We are proud of the efforts our students give toward excelling academically,” she said. “These awards serve as proof of the hard work and dedication of our students and our teachers.”

Allen Edwards, director of 6-12 Gifted Education, agreed.

“Success in an AP course isn’t just dependent on one AP teacher in one year,” he said. “Just like at graduation, our entire school system from Pre-K through 12th grade plays a part in preparing our students for high achievement on these incredibly rigorous exams.”

Colquitt County students have the opportunity to take 16 AP courses, beginning in ninth grade with AP World History at Gray Junior High School. At CCHS students may take English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Calculus, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Physics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, U.S. History, Spanish Language, and Spanish Literature, as well as two courses new in the 2016-2017 school year, AP Psychology and AP Seminar, the first course in College Board’s two-year research sequence, AP Capstone. Additionally, students may take AP classes online during the school day through Georgia Virtual School on any subject not offered locally.

For more information about Advanced Placement visit https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home.