Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School Recognized for Achievements in Advanced Placement Exams

was named to the national AP Achievement List earlier this year. 

This list honors schools across the country that have expanded access for students to take the Advanced Placement tests while keeping scores on the tests high, according to the College Board’s website. 

Susan Kozimor, the guidance department chair and AP coordinator for the school, said this is the first year that Brecksville-Broadview Heights has made the prestigious list. Only 25 schools in Ohio and 388 across the country made the list this year, according to a press release from the district. Only three schools in Cuyahoga County earned the honor. 

The recognition is based on a three-year average, Kozimor said, and she thinks that the growth of Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ programs has been a key factor. In the last 10 years, the number of exams taken has increased from about 150 to about 700, she said. The district currently offers 17 AP courses.

“The program has really grown,” Kozimor said. 

Students have been taking the AP tests in recent weeks, and many teachers offer warm-ups and practice programs leading up to the exam, Kozimor said. The teachers are dedicated, she added, and care about how the students do.

For example, Jeff Luce, a math teacher at the high school, held a pizza and study party last week before the AP Calculus exams. About 50 students filed into the media center to get some last-minute help before the exam the next day, Luce said.

The program mainly helps students get rid of their pre-test nerves, Luce said, adding that they already know the material.

Students have the opportunity to take AP exams for possible college credit, and the courses are important for students because they prepare them for higher education, Kozimor said. 

“It gets them prepared for the rigor of college material,” she added.