Local students urged to amp up AP performance

MARBLE FALLS —  When Marble Falls school district Trustee Kelly Fox described high school students’ Advanced Placement scores as “abysmal” during a recent board meeting, administrator Eric Penrod understood exactly where she was coming from.

“I won’t make excuses, we have some places where we definitely need a lot of work,” said Penrod, who is director of secondary curriculum. “We’ve been pretty flatlined in our AP scores and even participation. But we’re making changes and we’re doing them at incremental steps.”

Students at Marble Falls High School take AP subjects to better prepare themselves for college and to pick up more credit for their coursework. The courses are considered more challenging than the regular curriculum.

Despite the board admonitions in regard to AP performance at the high school, the student achievement hasn’t been without stars. In fact, the same night the board criticized the AP scores and participation trustees also recognized several students for their performance in the program.