KANNAPOLIS — Kannapolis City Schools is one of only four North Carolina school districts honored by the College Board with placement on the fifth annual Advanced Placement District Honor Roll.

Kannapolis was recognized for increasing access to Advanced Placement course work and maintaining or increasing the percentage of students who scored 3 or higher on Advanced Placement Exams.

According to the College Board, reaching these goals shows that Kannapolis City Schools is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for Advanced Placement courses. Since 2012, Kannapolis City Schools has increased the number of students who are taking AP courses and raised the number of students who earned scores of 3 or higher.

“This a wonderful honor, and I am extremely proud of our staff at A.L. Brown and the central office for giving our students access to higher level courses,” said Dr. Pam Cain, KCS superintendent.

“Our school board has made a commitment to raising academic standards and making sure our students are ready to meet the higher standards. We want our students to be ready for college and careers, and this honor shows we are being successful. I am grateful to the College Board for recognizing our efforts,” she added.

In 2013, Kannapolis City Schools started an Advanced Placement Academy at A.L. Brown High School designed to increase access to advanced placement courses. It offers pre-college and college level courses that are taught by College Board-trained instructors.

A.L. Brown offers 14 Advanced Placement courses and plans to add two more in 2016. Since 2012, A.L. Brown has increased its Advanced Placement course offerings by 20 percent. This has given students more options for taking college-level courses while still in high school. A.L. Brown also has increased the percentage of minorities taking Advanced Placement courses.

“The devoted teachers and administrators in this district are delivering an undeniable benefit to their students: opportunity,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of AP and instruction.

Inclusion on the fifth annual Advanced Placement District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of Advanced Placement data from 2012 to 2014.

In order to make the AP District Honor Roll, districts must increase participation or access to Advanced Placement courses by at least 6 percent in medium-sized districts and at least 11 percent in small districts, as well as increase or maintain the percentage of exams taken by minority students. Districts must also improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2014 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2012.