At a ceremony Tuesday, Gwinnett County Public Schools was named the College Board Advanced Placement District of the Year.
Gwinnett was the winner in the "large" category, defined as school districts with 50,000 or more students, according to Sloan Roach, GCPS spokeswoman.
"We are excited that the work of our students and teachers has been recognized by College Board," said CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks in a statement.
"We are very pleased with the gains we have seen in Advanced Placement testing, in terms of both participation and performance. In Gwinnett County Public Schools we take pride in our efforts to challenge students to higher levels of achievement and our work with AP is evidence of this success. There are a lot of school districts out there and to be named 'District of the Year' is quite an achievement. This is an honor that should be celebrated in every single one of our clusters as this recognizes the hard work and achievement of students and teachers throughout the district."
Officials said AP participation rose 5-percent from 2014 to 2016, and the number of students who scored at least a 3 on AP exams rose from 60- to 61-percent over that same period.
AP tests are scored on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the best score; colleges generally accept a 3 for college credit, though that is not always the case.
"Participating in AP course work can also lead to college savings for families because the typical student who scores a 3 or higher on two AP Exams has the potential to save, on average, $1,779 at a public four-year college and over $6,000 at a private institution," Roach wrote in a press release.
The county was given the award at Duluth High School.
