Two Missouri high school students have qualified for the College Board’s State Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar Award. The award is an academic distinction recognizing students who have earned the most AP Exam scores of 3 or higher statewide and the highest average score on all AP Exams taken. One male student and one female student from each state and the District of Columbia receive the annual award.

This year’s Missouri honorees are Haran K. Kumar, a student at Parkway West High School, and Lucy Zhu, a student at Marquette High School. Both students are from Chesterfield, Mo.

“Congratulations to Haran and Lucy for showing exemplary college-level achievement,” said Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. “Missouri is working to expand AP opportunities so that other students who have shown an aptitude for these challenging courses have access to them.”

Nearly 22,000 Missouri students took the AP Exams in 2017, about a thousand more than in 2016. Students may take the exams in more than one subject, and a total of more than 35,500 AP Exams were taken by Missouri students this year. If students take an exam more than once, their highest score is counted. In 2017, 21,795 Missouri students scored a 3, 4 or 5. Some colleges and universities may grant course credit to students who earn high scores on AP Exams, and AP Scholars are able to list the distinction on their college applications.