A Jacksonville area school has received national recognition for diversity in the science classroom.
Routt Catholic High School has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles.
Schools honored with the Award are recognized for expanding girls’ access in AP computer science courses. In 2022, Routt Catholic High School was one of 832 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles.
According to an announcement by the school today, more than 1,100 institutions achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses, or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-22 school year.
Routt Catholic Principal Dan Carie congratulated computer science teacher Tracy Ptacek and her class on the achievement. He said it is an honor that the school earned this distinction, and looks forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer sciences.
According to the College Board AP, the first year of AP Computer Science Principles just over five years ago attracted more students than any other AP course debut, and participation is on the rise.
In 2022, more than 134,000 students took the AP CSP Exam, tripling the number of exam takers in the course’s first year. In 2022, 44,811 women took the AP CSP Exam, more than three times the number who tested in 2017.