<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>washingtonpost.com - Challenge Index</title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/education/kto12/challengeindex?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><description>Challenge Index</description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com</link><url>http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif</url></image><item><title><![CDATA[Six Surprises From Area High Schools]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42998-2004Dec7.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42998-2004Dec7.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[This year a record 61 percent of area public schools achieved 1.000 ratings on the index. But with this great growth in college-level courses has come some surprises.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Woodlawn Leads in AP Participation]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47446-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47446-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Arlington's H-B Woodlawn has the highest level of college-level course participation in the area, but a passing rate on the tests of only 53 percent]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Participation in AP, IB Up 17 Percent]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47515-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47515-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[The city's public schools showed the greatest increase in accelerated programs in the last three years, but remains behind most other area districts.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[In AP-vs.-IB Debate,  A Win for the Students]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47562-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47562-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[George Mason and W.T. Woodson rank among the top two dozen public schools in the nation, achieving the same impressive results with two different programs.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[At Patuxent, Participation Jumps]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45554-2004Dec7.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45554-2004Dec7.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Patuxent High went from 313 to 506 AP tests in just one year and had an index rating of 1.275, the highest in its history.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Schools Log Increases in Exams Taken]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46057-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46057-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Fauquier increased from 269 to 644 tests taken this year by paying AP testing fees and requiring AP students to take exams.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tests Distinguish County Schools]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46059-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46059-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Prince William is one of the first large districts in the country in which the number of college-level tests taken in every high school exceeds the number of graduating seniors.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[AP Participation Leaps]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47415-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47415-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[County high schools soared 69 percent this year, a record increase for and one of the largest increases ever in the Washington area.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Schools Top 1.000 Mark]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47590-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47590-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Howard increased the number of college-level tests being given in its high schools by 16 percent this year.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Advanced Courses on Rise]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47860-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47860-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Wheaton increased its AP participation rate more than any other school in the county and achieved an index rating of 1.5744.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Douglass Shines in Index]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47942-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47942-2004Dec8.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Frederick Douglass High more than doubled the number of AP tests given, from 61 to 157, in the last year.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[For Best Schools, Shop and Compare]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28068-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28068-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Most of the educators I know hate to compare one school to another. It is unfair and unscientific, they say, to try to determine which has the better teachers or the better principal or the better courses.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Maryland Schools:  Exit Exams]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35114-2003Dec4.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35114-2003Dec4.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Washington Post Staff Writer and washingtonpost.com Education Columnist Jay Mathews will discuss Maryland's standardized testing for graduates, the Washington Post Challenge Index and the retirement of Fairfax County school superintendent Daniel Domenech.]]></description><author>LiveOnline</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Advanced Classes Continue To Grow]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30102-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30102-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[It would have been difficult for Loudoun County to top its record surge of college-level high school tests in 2002 -- up 50 percent in just one year. But this year, the program grew 33 percent, still one of the fastest expansion rates in the area.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Counties Boost Advanced Studies]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30030-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30030-2003Dec2.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Thomas Stone High School in Charles County has had one of the fastest growths in college-level test taking in the Washington area, quadrupling the number of Advanced Placement tests it has given between 2001 and 2003. But while school administrators are delighted, former history teacher Tom Shaffer, who contributed to this success, is not happy about it.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[More Students Are Facing Challenge of IB, AP Tests]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30350-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30350-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[The explosive growth of the International Baccalaureate program at Gar-Field Senior High School, plus more Advanced Placement tests at several other schools, pushed Prince William County's high school participation rate in college courses to a new level this year, according to The Washington Post's annual Challenge Index ratings.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Schools Increase Test-Taking Rate]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31259-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31259-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[College-level test taking in Anne Arundel County high schools increased 13 percent this year, as Superintendent Eric J. Smith initiated a  program to improve the study habits of average and below-average students to prepare them for challenging high school work.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wakefield AP Testing Shows Stronger Passing Grade]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31223-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31223-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Arlington's Wakefield High School is well-known among experts on the Advanced Placement program. Very few other public high schools with as many low-income students have done so well in persuading students to take the college-level courses and their difficult three-hour final exams.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Effort Turns the Tide at River Hill]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31552-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31552-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[For some time, River Hill High Principal Scott Pfeifer had noticed that his school, like most in Howard County, didn't take the Advanced Placement program very seriously. A false rumor had spread among students that colleges did not care much about college-level courses such as AP. Students who took AP often didn't take the difficult but optional three-hour exams.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rising to the Tests Of Collegiate Study]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31603-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31603-2003Dec3.html?nav=rss_education/kto12/challengeindex</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:11:34 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Dave Roylance learned early that creating a strong International Baccalaureate program at South Lakes High School in Reston was not going to be easy.]]></description><author> Jay Mathews</author></item></channel></rss>