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<channel><title><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com - Challenge Index]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/education/special/5/index.html?nav=rss_education/special/5]]></link><description><![CDATA[]]></description><language>en-us</language><ttl>30</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com?nav=rss</link><url>http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif </url></image><item><title><![CDATA[ AP and IB Participation Holds Steady ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300535.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300535.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Christen Dressel is a senior at South River High School. She loves her Advanced Placement courses. She will have completed 10 of the college-level courses by the time she graduates next year, and she thinks they are the reason she is being admitted to colleges and receiving merit scholarships. ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ They're Up for a Challenge ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300531.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300531.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Among Arlington County's four high schools, Wakefield is often viewed as the most disadvantaged. Among the four, the south Arlington school has the largest proportion of low-income students -- 54 percent -- and of minorities. ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ D.C. Schools Rank 23rd in Region on Challenge Index ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300743.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300743.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Benjamin Banneker Academic, Bell Multicultural and Woodrow Wilson high schools continue to have strong Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs, according to the 2006 Washington Post Challenge Index, and a few other schools improved on the list. ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ County Students Pile On AP, IB Courses ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300686.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300686.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Fairfax County students take a heavier load of college-level courses than students in any other large school district in the country, according to the 2006 Washington Post Challenge Index and national data. And although some say it can be a grind, many believe it is necessary in preparing for...<br clear="all"><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/education/special/5;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=2812618829" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/education/special/5;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=2812618829" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ County AP Program Remains Strong ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300862.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300862.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Most Howard County high schools maintained their strong Advanced Placement programs this year, according to The Washington Post's Challenge Index, though the school system continued to lag behind other similarly affluent districts in the region. ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ AP Program In Loudoun Remains Strong ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201809.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121201809.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Loudoun County schools had a 49 percent increase in Advanced Placement tests this year, as the county continued to build one of the strongest college-level test programs in the country, according to The Washington Post's annual Challenge Index list of area high schools. ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ A Boost in High School Courses at  College Level ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300028.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300028.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Kay Barcus has more experience with Advanced Placement, and its alternatives, than most parents in Prince William County. Her two older children took introductory courses in college at about the same time her two younger children were taking AP courses, supposedly the equivalent of the same college... ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[ Advanced Courses Expand in Scope ]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300032.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300032.html?nav=rss_education/special/5</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ Kim Reeves's daughter took two Advanced Placement English courses at La Plata High School, and they were not easy. The subject matter moved very quickly, giving the teachers "no leeway to help students who didn't catch on as quickly as others," Reeves said.<br clear="all"><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/education/special/5;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=2812618983" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/education/special/5;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=2812618983" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description><author>Jay Mathews</author></item></channel></rss>
