TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. – Twelve of 53 students at the Academy of Notre Dame have earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their achievement on Advanced Placement exams for the 2014 session.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program provides academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school and to earn college credit, advanced placement in college classes or both for successful performances on AP exams.

AP Scholar with Distinction honors are given to students who receive an average score of 3.5 or greater on a 5-point scale on all AP exams and to those who score a 3 or higher on five or more tests. Class of 2014 valedictorian Mary Kate
McCarthy, of Tyngsborough, received this highest honor. She is a freshman at Boston University.

AP Scholar with Honor is awarded to students who earn an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams and who score a 3 or higher on four or more exams. New Hampshire students earning this award were Sarah Scully (University of Massachusetts Lowell), of Nashua; Alison Hebert (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), of Merrimack; and Hannah French (Providence College), of New Boston. Massachusetts students who earned the award were Rebekah Paxton (Boston University), of Groton, and Alanna Woodlock (Emmanuel College), of Chelmsford.

Students completing three or more exams with scores of 3 or higher receive recognition as AP Scholars. Anastasia Bevillard (Bryant University) and Erika Lewis (University of Vermont), of Lowell; Jordan Blazak (Tulane University), of Pelham, N.H.; Helen Corey (Connecticut College) and Justine Morelli (Denison University), of Pepperell; and Tanusha Yarlagadda (Holy Cross), of North Chelmsford, earned this award.

NDA offers nine AP courses and preparation for several other AP tests through a combination of direct instruction and independent study. Academy students earned 3 or higher on 71 exams given.

For more information about the academy, visit www.ndatyngsboro.org.