Thomas Jefferson HS earns Silver distinction in AP School Honor Roll

TJ’s 24 AP Scholars in 2022-23 tied the school record

Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) in West Jefferson Hills School District has earned Silver level distinction in the 2022-23 AP School Honor Roll, ranking among the top 12% of all 653 eligible high schools in Pennsylvania.

The AP School Honor Roll offers schools recognition across four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Schools on the AP School Honor Roll may also earn the AP Access Award, honoring schools that demonstrate a clear and effective commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.

It was another record-setting year for Thomas Jefferson students pursuing college credits through the school’s Advanced Placement (AP) courses and the College Board’s AP testing in 2022-23. A school record 189 TJ students earned 3+ scores on their AP exams, which is the passing grade for the course and may qualify them for college credits. The 189 total was an increase of 14.3% from the 162 students in 2021-22.

Nearly 80% of TJ students who took AP exams (189 of 239) posted 3+ scores in the 2023 AP testing, a strong improvement from 68 to 79% in 2022-23.

AP school records by Thomas Jefferson students also were established in 2022-23 for:
-239 students taking AP exams
-282 students enrolled in AP exams
-519 AP exams administered
-24 AP Scholars (tied school record)

“Over the past five years, the entire school community has worked hard to increase the rigor and relevance of our program of studies,” said Thomas Jefferson Assistant Principal Adam Knaresborough, who has led many of the efforts to grow the AP program. “We’ve added new AP course offerings that our students were interested in, and expanded access to our AP courses by recommending more students to take our most challenging classes.”

Joining Thomas Jefferson as Silver level honorees were several Western Pennsylvania high schools including: Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon, Quaker Valley, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair. Approximately 30% of eligible high schools in the United States or Canada received the AP School Honor Roll distinction for this past school year. Of the 653 eligible schools in Pennsylvania, 21% were named to the AP School Honor Roll.

For a school to be recognized on the AP School Honor Roll, it must meet each of the following criteria anchored in research-based relationships between AP and college outcomes:
• College Culture: 40% or more of the graduating cohort took at least one AP Exam during high school.
• College Credit: 25% or more of the graduating cohort scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP Exam during high school.
• College Optimization: 2% or more of the graduating cohort took five or more AP Exams during high school. At least one of those exams was taken in 9th or 10th grade, so that students are spreading their AP experience across grades rather than feeling disproportionate pressure in any single year.

A school record-tying 24 Thomas Jefferson students earned AP Scholars distinction in 2022-23 and were recognized at an event unveiling their names on the AP Scholars display at the high school. Thomas Jefferson students can earn AP Scholar recognition by taking at least five AP Exams and scoring a 3 or greater on three or more exams during their high school career. The number of Thomas Jefferson AP Scholars has increased from 19 in 2020, to 21 in 2021 to 24 the past two years.