For the fifth consecutive year, George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids is the top Advanced Placement school in Iowa, according to the Iowa AP Index.

The index, developed 10 years ago by the University of Iowa College of Education‘s Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, assesses Advanced Placement (AP) participation among accredited public and nonpublic schools in Iowa. The index is part of the Belin-Blank Center’s efforts to recognize Iowa schools that provide challenging academic opportunities for high school students.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program allows students to pursue college-level studies and take college-level exams while in high school. In May 2013, more than 2 million students took 3.7 million AP exams in 34 subjects.

Rounding out the top five schools in the 2014 Iowa AP Index behind Washington with an index score of 3.93 are John F. Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids with an index score of 3.38, Regina High School in Iowa City with an index score of 2.72, Roosevelt High School in Des Moines with an index score of 2.55, and Ames High School in Ames with an index score of 2.15.

The Iowa AP Index is designed to give a fair comparison of AP opportunity across Iowa schools. An index score is calculated for each participating school based on the ratio of AP exams taken by all its students divided by the number of its graduating seniors.

The top 25 schools will be honored during the annual Belin-Blank Recognition Ceremony on Oct. 5, at the UI.

“Advanced Placement opportunities make a big difference in the lives of the students and their teachers. The rating reflects participation in the AP program at a school, not the overall quality of the school. However, one indication of a high school’s commitment to preparing high-ability students for college is access to advanced courses. Schools that make these opportunities available to the students are clearly committed to the success of the entire student body,” says Susan Assouline, director of the Belin-Blank Center.

The number of Iowa schools offering AP opportunities and the number of AP exams taken has increased substantially since 2001, with 212 high schools having at least one student take an AP exam and 14,629 AP exams taken in 2013. Sometimes, when greater numbers of students participate, there is a decline in performance. However, that is not the case with Iowa’s students. In 2013, the percentage of Iowa exams with a score of 3 or higher was 64.7 percent, which compares favorably to the 2013 national average of 57.4 percent.

Through the Iowa Online AP Academy, funded by the State of Iowa, all accredited schools have access to free tuition for online AP courses and online AP exam review. During 2013-14, Iowa’s sixth graders had access to above-level testing, which indicates readiness for pre-AP advanced coursework. The Belin-Blank Center provides outreach and professional development for teachers through the College Board-accredited Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute.

To view the top 50 AP schools in Iowa, visit www.iowaapindex.org.