Liberty County Schools students’ scores on Advanced Placement exams are on the rise.

Bradwell Institute had 59% of its AP test-takers score a 3 or better on their tests, and Liberty County High School had 70% of its students taking AP exams post a 3 or better. The AP exams are scored on a 1-5 range, with 5 being the highest score.

“We’re offering more, and the scores continue to increase,” said Kelli Zeigler, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

Colleges often award credit or placement for students who score at least a 3 on an AP exam.

Liberty County had 42% of its AP test-takers score a 3 or better in 2021. That year, 55 students taking 83 exams – students may be enrolled in more than one AP course at a time and take more than one course test – resulted in 23 scores of 3 or better. This past year, 81 LCHS students took 108 AP exams, and 57 had scores of 3 or better.

At LCHS, those taking the Pre-Calculus and English Language Composition tests had passing rates of 80%.

Bradwell had 44% of its AP students posting at least a 3 on an exam in 2024 and that figure was 24% in 2021. In 2025, 141 Bradwell students took a total of 200 AP exams, with 83 scores coming back at 3 or higher.

Four AP courses at Bradwell had all test-takers making at least a 3 – Computer Science Principles, English Language Composition, English Literature Composition and Psychology. U.S. History had an 80% passing rate.

Grades in AP courses are weighted on a student’s 4.0 grade point average scale but do not factor into their overall 100-point scale. The 100-point scale, Dr. John Ryan, school system executive director of technology and media, factors into determining a graduating class’ valedictorian and salutatorian, and students must take AP courses or be dual-enrolled to be considered for those distinctions.

“There are a lot of our honors students who have higher than a 4.0 because they have taken those classes,” he said.

Zeigler added the school system welcomed more than 100 new staff who went through two days of new teacher orientation, and more than 8,900 parents stopped by the schools during the open houses.

“It has been an amazing start to the school year,” she said.