From left to right, Adofo Muhammad, Principal, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Chancellor Dennis Walcott, Simone D’Souza, DOE Office of Research, Accountability and Data 12..3.13 Photo by Maurice Pinzon
By New York News Network
In his last months in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been taking a bit of a victory lap, highlighting the achievements of his 12-year administration. So it is sometimes hard to tell whether the high grades he cites are being awarded to his administration or to the programs he is discussing. Perhaps they are just indistinguishable at this point in his tenure.
On this day, Mayor Bloomberg held the news conference at Bedford Academy High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant to focus on a city-wide increase in the number of students taking advanced placement (AP) courses.
The mayor seemed eager to grab any positive education measures he could find.
By taking AP courses, according to Mayor Bloomberg, students not only receive college credit but also end up taking “rigorous classes” that leave the students better prepared for college-level work. At the Bedford Academy, more than 64% in the current graduating class took at least one college-level AP exam.
“Such gains are being repeated all across our city and that means that each year thousands more of our students are graduating high school better prepared for college and careers.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg with Bedford Academy H.S. students. 12.3.13 Photo by Maurice Pinzon
Since 2012 black students taking AP exams increased by 13.1 percent. Of those students, 8.2 percent passed at least one AP exam. There was also an increase in the number of Hispanic students taking AP tests, an uptick of 16.6 percent since 2012. According to the mayor, 11.4 percent of Hispanic students passed at least one AP exam.
“Over the past 12 years, we’ve made a big push to increase the number of schools offering AP courses and increase the number of students enrolled in them,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
“Our education reforms are paying off,” he concluded.