Positive educational trend

South Carolina's low national standing by most measures of educational achievement perpetuates the misleading notion that our public schools are all utter failures. Fresh refutation of that misconception comes from last week's release of statistics showing the school-by-school breakdown of "Advanced Placement" exams taken and passed by our state's high school students last year.

Advance placement (AP) courses, though taught in high schools, are college-level classes. Students with sufficient academic skills and dedication can gain early college credit — and advance placement into more difficult college courses — by scoring a 3 or better (out of a possible 5) on year-end exams in 37 AP courses, including U.S. history, biology, English literature and calculus.

A continuing upward trend in the number of S.C. students taking those courses and making the grade shows that our state's public schools can produce impressive classroom results. Last year, S.C. students earned a 3 or better on a record high of 14,922 AP exams — an 11 percent increase over 2005-06.

That doesn't only mean more S.C. students are entering college with more credits. It means more S.C. students are being challenged to reach their academic potentials. That same upward pattern is evident in expanding numbers for "International Baccalaureate" programs, which also provide an opportunity to earn college credit and advance placement while still in high school.

The winning streak for these initiatives includes the Charleston area. According to the numbers released by the state Department of Education, the local tally for AP exam grades of 3 or better last year included 523 at Academic Magnet, 319 at Wando, 249 at Summerville, 103 at Charleston School of the Arts, 100 at Fort Dorchester, 97 at James Island, 79 at West Ashley, 56 at Stratford and 49 at Goose Creek. The two tri-county schools offering IB programs in our area also produced strong numbers in IB exams passed — 121 at James Island, 88 at Fort Dorchester.

Unfortunately, those results, while encouraging, can't erase the persisting failures of many S.C. public schools to meet minimum academic standards. But state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, in a release, correctly hailed the positive pattern of more high school students making the college-level grade every year: "Our AP classes have top-quality teachers, an intense focus on clearly understood goals and high expectations for all kids. We need to approach every class that way, not just AP classes. Once we do that, our success stories will come in by the truckload."

The sustained progress of AP and IB programs proves that South Carolina's public-education system is capable of impressive academic achievement. The challenge is to replicate that success on all levels — and at all schools.