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An increasing number of Vestavia Hills High School students are getting college credits while still in high school, officials say.
The number of Vestavia Hills students taking dual enrollment classes, which provide credits for both high school and college, has grown from 125 in the 2021-22 school year to 155 in 2022-23 and 226 this school year, Assistant Superintendent Aimee Rainey said. That’s a 46% increase this year compared to last year.
Additionally, the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses has grown from 1,278 in the 2018-19 school year to 1,539 this school year, Rainey said.
Seventy-four percent of Vestavia Hills High School students are seeking college credit through either dual enrollment or AP courses, Rainey said. Vestavia Hills offers 21 AP courses and four dual enrollment courses, she said.
The most popular AP courses are U.S. history, U.S. government, English, macroeconomics, world history, biology and calculus, Rainey said. English and history seem to be the most popular courses, perhaps because most colleges give credits for qualifying scores on end-of-the-year AP exams, while some colleges are more particular about giving credit for math and science classes, school officials said.
Vestavia Hills High School students don’t just take the AP courses; 86% of those who took the courses in 2023 earned a score of 3 or higher on the end-of-the-year AP exam. A score of 3 out of 5 typically is enough to qualify for college credit.
Most Vestavia Hills students take their dual enrollment courses through Jefferson State Community College, but more recently the University of Alabama and Auburn University have been working with Vestavia Hills High School students on dual enrollment, Rainey said. Jeff State likely is the most popular because the college offers some substantial scholarships so parents either don’t pay anything or pay a very small amount, Rainey said. That’s a bargain compared to what the same class would cost at some four-year universities, and both Alabama and Auburn accept dual enrollment credits from Jeff State, she said.
Vestavia Hills High School students also are doing very well on the ACT test, a college entrance exam for which many colleges require a certain score for admission, Rainey said. Vestavia Hills students consistently have been in the top three among high schools statewide regarding their average ACT scores, she said.
Eighty-two of this past year’s seniors scored a 30 or higher on the ACT, and two Vestavia Hills students scored the highest possible score of 36, Rainey said. “That’s amazing,” she said.
The average composite ACT score for Vestavia Hills students was 23.43, while the district’s students averaged 24.04 in reading, 23.42 in English, 23.06 in science and 22.74 in math, she said. All of those are above the national average, she said.
The Vestavia Hills school district wants to continue focusing on offering classes related to business and science, technology, engineering and math because one-third of the district’s graduates are going into business/finance fields, and another third are going into STEM fields, Rainey said.
