Two outstanding Illinois students named State Advanced Placement Scholars

Springfield — State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch today announced the two Illinois high school students that are being recognized as Illinois’ State Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars based on their outstanding performance on the Advanced Placement Program Examinations. Patrick Lee a former student at Barrington Community High School and Mariya Grinberg a former student at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, are among 104 students nationwide to receive this honor.

“The opportunity to take these exams and gain college credit while still in high school is extremely beneficial for students,” said Superintendent Koch. “We know that success in college is directly related to course selection and rigor in high school. Patrick and Mariya have clearly demonstrated dedication and commitment to achieving the best education possible.”

A record number of Illinois high school students took AP tests during the 2006-2007 school year, according to a report released by the College Board in August. More than 55,000 public and nonpublic juniors and seniors took AP tests—a 9.9 percent increase over 2006. In addition, the state also saw a significant increase in all minority groups taking AP classes.

In addition to the record increase in participation, there was also a 7.9 percent increase in the number of tests being scored high enough to receive college credit. An individual student may take more than one test and the number of tests taken increased by more than 10,000 in 2007 to 98,000.

This is the seventeenth annual granting of State AP Scholar Awards. The College Board awards this prestigious honor to the one female and one male student in each US state and the District of Columbia with grades of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average grade (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken.

In 2007, more than 1.4 million high school students in more than 16,000 secondary schools worldwide took more than 2.5 million AP Exams. On almost two-thirds of these exams, students received grades of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale, which potentially qualifies them for credit, advanced placement, or both at colleges and universities worldwide.

Lee is now a student at Yale University and Grinberg is at the University of Southern California.