New Mexico

Public Education Department

300 Don Gaspar

                                                            Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501-2786


Dr. Veronica C. García                                                                                                                                             www.ped.state.nm.us

Secretary of Education

                       

Beverly Friedman

Public Information Officer

505.827.6661

 

Press Release

 

For Immediate Release:  October 18, 2005

 

 

Two New Mexico Students Recognized as AP State Scholars

 

(SANTA FE) - Governor Bill Richardson announced today that two New Mexico high school students received AP State Scholar Awards based on their outstanding performance on the Advance Placement Program (AP) Examinations.

 

Robert T. Cordwell from Manzano High School, and Madeline S. Tiee from Los Alamos High School are among 106 students nationwide to receive this honor.  Cordwell is continuing his educational studies at Cal Tech and Tiee is a student at University of California at Berkeley.

 

“Robert and Madeline are the top Advanced Placement students in the state and serve as examples of where we want all of students to be,” said Governor Richardson.  “We all wish them success in their college studies and encourage them to return to New Mexico for their careers.”

 

Education Secretary Dr. Veronica C. Garcia will honor the students at the November 18 meeting of the Public Education Commission in Santa Fe. 

 

This is the fifteenth annual granting of AP State Scholar Awards.  These awards are earned by one female and one male student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with grades of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average grade (at least 3.5) on all AP exams taken.  

 

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offer students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP Exams.  In 2005, more than one million high school students in more that 15,000 secondary schools worldwide took more than 2.1 million AP Exams.  On almost two-thirds of these exams, students received grades of 3 or higher on a 5-point scale, which potentially qualifies them for credit, advanced placement, or both, at colleges and universities worldwide.

 

Eighty-six public high schools in New Mexico offer AP classes.  Thirty-six school districts in New Mexico offer three or more AP classes.  The U.S. Department of Education, the New Mexico State Legislature, the College Board and NM school districts forego administrative cost of the AP Exams for low income students making the final cost of the test $5 for these students.

 

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.

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