Marysville High School has been recognized by the College Board with placement on the third annual Advanced Placement (AP) District Honor Roll.

MHS achieved the award because it increased access to Advanced Placement courses for students and it increased the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.

"We have more students challenging themselves by taking harder classes," MHS Principal Matt Chrispin said.

"It also says our teachers are doing a great job of preparing our kids for higher learning," he added.

College Board President David Coleman said achieving both of these goals is an ideal scenario for a district's AP program because it indicates the district is successfully identifying motivated and academically prepared students.

"We applaud the extraordinary efforts of the devoted teachers and administrators in these 539 districts who are fostering rigorous work worth doing," he said. "These educators have not only expanded student access to AP coursework, but they have enabled more of their students to achieve on a college level."

Chrispin said MHS teachers want to remove the stigma of AP courses being "just for the smart kids."

"Some kids don't see themselves as being smart," he said. "Our teachers are committed to breaking down that barrier and encouraging more kids to challenge themselves by taking AP classes."

The College Board recognition comes on the heels of a state report card giving Marysville schools an excellent with distinction rating.

The district is also facing $2 million in cuts because of a rejected levy in November.

The College Board looked at AP data from 2010 to 2012 in deciding what districts to put on the AP Honor Roll.

Marysville increased the number of students participating in AP classes from 139 students in 2010 to 172 students in 2012.

The district also met the requirement that the percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students taking AP exams did not decrease by more than 5 percent.

In addition, MHS had to improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2012 scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams to those in 2010, unless the district already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher on exams.

About 58 percent of MHS students earned scores of a 3 or higher on the exams in 2010 and that increased to 71 percent in 2012.

The College Board's Advanced Placement program helps students pursue college-level studies with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both while still in high school.

Some MHS students take multiple AP classes, resulting in 456 seats filled in AP classes this school year.