<p>
And here you want … MORE! MORE FOR ME!!! GIVE ME MORE ADVANTAGES!!!</p>
<p>I see you guys (or gals as the case may be) running a race in which you’re given 21-speed racing bicycles and other kids are forced to run with 20 lb. balls attached by chains to their ankles. And when you get to the finish line, you look back on those kids in shackles and say, "Look Mommy and Daddy! I WON!!! Look at me!!! Look at me!!!
</p>
<p>Tarhunt—</p>
<p>That’s one bitter way of looking at the big picture, another way might be that Northern Virginia high school students are working very, very hard in a much more competitive environment and are probably much better prepared for college when they get there. Competing in a school where 70% of the students are at risk is quite different than competing at most Northern Virginia high Schools. The students in both regions are not in control of their circumstances, however, you should not minimize the efforts of those who work very hard and give up so much in an attempt to become competitive college applicants. </p>
<p>
Area Students Lead Country in AP, IB Tests Taken
<p>By Jay Mathews
<p>Arlington County high school senior Phyllis Petronello called the workload of her college-level program “insane.” But the region’s students are plunging into such academic madness at a greater rate than students anywhere in the country, a Washington Post survey has found.</p>
<p>The Post’s annual survey of public high schools in the District and 21 area cities and counties found that 110,244 college-level tests were given in the spring, a 69 percent increase since 2002.</p>
<p>The survey also showed that 70 percent of Washington area high schools reached a benchmark known as the Post Challenge Index: They give as many or more college-level tests each year as they have graduating seniors. Only about 5 percent of high schools nationwide reach that target. Most of the tests are Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations.</p>
<p>The Post survey, coupled with national data collected this year for Newsweek magazine’s “America’s Best High Schools” list, shows that the Washington region has a higher concentration of schools than any other U.S. metropolitan area that meets the Challenge Index benchmark.</p>
<p>Fueling the surge in the Washington area, especially in Northern Virginia, is a move by many schools to pay the fees for all AP and IB students to take the tests.</p>
<p>“I don’t know of any area of the country in which the concentration of AP exam-taking is so high, or where the concentration of districts paying for the AP on behalf of their students is so great,” said Trevor Packer, executive director of the AP program for the College Board.
</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120602236_pf.html[/url] ”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120602236_pf.html</a></p> ;