While the number of students taking advanced placement classes has declined, the number taking dual credit courses has increased.

A.C. Jones Principal Joe Reyes told trustees during their Tuesday meeting, “We are going through academic changes or trends...

“We are still showing a nice growth of college bound students, it is just not in AP.”

Reyes, after the Beeville ISD board meeting, said that he didn’t think AP classes would disappear from the school’s curriculum.

“It (AP) is not going away,” he said.

Last year, there were eight AP classes at A.C. Jones High and eight dual credit classes.

This year, their are nine AP classes and 19 dual credit.

Overall enrollment in AP classes decreased from 231 students last year to 170 students this year but dual credit course enrollment increased from 143 students last year to more than 240 students this year.

“We are very fortunate to have a college only blocks away,” Reyes told trustees. He added that the high school will not offer both AP and dual credit for the same courses.

The trend among students now is to choose the dual credit classes over the AP.

“I think they want to get acclimated to the college scene,” he said.

Students taking the AP classes must pass the College Board approved exam in order to receive college credit.

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association composed of more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.

Students taking dual credit courses must pass the class in order to receive credit.

There is a downside to the dual credit courses, Reyes said.

While the college doesn’t charge admission fees to the high school students, the young scholars still must pay for books, which can run about $150, and Internet fees if applicable.

AP students, on the other hand, must pay the $85 to take the test required to receive college credit.

Reyes said that there are discounts on the tests for those students who fall into the economically disadvantaged criteria.

Trustee Matt Huie, during the board meeting, questioned why only two students last year passed their AP exams.

Reyes said they are working to improve the passing rate of these tests.

While teachers of AP classes can’t alter curriculum, that is set by the College Board, they are encouraging them to study more for the test by emphasizing its difficulty.

“They are telling them the stats and the percentages,” he said.

In other news Tuesday, trustees hired Robert Brooks as a speech teacher and coach at A.C. Jones High School.