Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics

1141 North Lincoln Boulevard

Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: 405/522-7806

Fax: 405/521-6442

Email: droberts@ossm.edu

For Immediate Release

February 7, 2006 Contact: Donna Roberts

Advanced Placement Places OSSM in Top Schools Worldwide

In its 2006 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, released today, the College Board named the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics' (OSSM) Physics C - Electricity and Magnetism course, the strongest of its kind in the world. Last spring, twenty OSSM students (juniors and seniors) scored three or higher on the AP Physics C - Electricity & Magnetism Exam. In no other high school in the world did a greater percentage of students succeed at such a high level of excellence.

In a letter congratulating Dr. Edna Manning, OSSM President, College Board officials said, ". . . the work you are doing of preparing so many students for success in such rigorous curricula is a model for schools worldwide."

In his State of the Union address last week, President Bush pledged to greatly increase the number of teachers qualified to teach Advanced Placement (AP) courses in mathematics and science, because of the evidence that the youth of this nation have fallen behind their counterparts in other countries. "If we insure that American children succeed in life," the president observed, "they will insure that America succeeds in the world."

In a recent interview about this crisis in American education, Manning said, "Math and science education is absolutely vital to the future of this country. We find that we are lagging behind much of the world in math and science, and we here at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics are committed to doing our part to change that, and to put America back in a leadership role in those fields."

OSSM is the state funded boarding school for juniors and seniors from across Oklahoma who have exceptional ability in, and plan to seek careers in science, mathematics, and technology. In its sixteen years of operation, the school has accepted students from every county in the state. During their two years at OSSM, students must complete nine semesters of science (including General Physics, Mechanics, and Electricity and Magnetism) four semesters each of math, English, social studies, foreign language, and physical education, two semesters of fine arts, and a semester of computer science. Each science course includes a weekly three-hour lab. When the Class of 2006 graduates in May, over 900 Oklahoma students will have completed the OSSM program, which the late Julian Stanley, an expert in the field of gifted education at Johns Hopkins University, called, "the most rigorous academic program of its kind in the nation."