Four Gwinnett County high schools recently earned some academic bragging rights.

Archer, Collins Hill, Grayson and Norcross high schools made the state Department of Education’s list of Advanced Placement Honor Schools in all three categories that measure student performance on the exams.

Those categories are:

  • AP Access and Support Schools. Those are schools where at least 30 percent of their AP exams taken by students who identified themselves as African-American and/or Hispanic, and 30 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
  • AP Merit Schools. Those are high schools with at least 20 percent of the students taking AP exams and at least 50 percent of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
  • AP STEM Achievement Schools. Those are schools with students testing in at least two AP math courses and two AP science courses, and at least 40 percent of the exam scores on AP math and AP science exams earning scores of 3 or higher.

The AP Honor Schools designations were based on data from 2014-15 school year. There were several other lists that honored schools if a certain number of students took various AP courses. The lists were announced Thursday.

Last year, Grayson and Norcross were the only two Gwinnett high schools who made the list in all three categories that measure student performance on the exams.

AP courses are often considered more rigorous than standard high school classes. The state began AP Honor Schools in 2008.

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