Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 6:00 AM

By Kim Chandler, The Birmingham News

MONTGOMERY -- In their first days in Susan Dial's AP biology class at Gardendale High School, students learned a date in addition to scientific processes such as mitosis and meiosis -- May 14, 2012.

That's the date of the upcoming Advanced Placement biology exam, in which the students can qualify for college credit.

"I tell them, 'Guys, May 14 is what we are striving for,'" Dial said.

The first year Dial taught biology, she had 25 students and one made a passing score on the AP exam. After participating in a program to boost AP participation and scores, she had 52 AP students and 12 passing scores -- including one score of five, the highest possible a student can make on the test.

The A+ College Ready program has resulted in a 108 percent jump in passing scores on the AP tests in math, science and English, among schools that use the program statewide. The program provides training and support for teachers, special Saturday study sessions for students, incentives to teachers and a $100 bonus to students if they pass the AP exam at the end of the year.

"Amazing. We are astounded by the results," A+ College Ready President Mary Boehm said.

"We have proven that, when kids are willing to step up to the rigor with teachers that are willing to support them, they can absolutely succeed at AP," Boehm said.

AP classes are college-caliber classes that students take in high school. An exam taken at the end of the year gives students the opportunity to earn college credit. Students can earn a score of 1 to 5 on the exam and typically can earn college credit, depending upon the university they attend, if they score a 3 or above.

There are 43 high schools in 17 school districts participating in the program, which Dial said has been immensely helpful when trying to teach college-level material to high school students.

"She's very good at breaking things down on different levels so we understand what is going on and it's in terms that we can understand it," said Wayne House, a former student of Dial's who earned a 5 on the AP biology test. House, who thinks he might major in biomedical engineering or biochemistry, will be the first in his family to go to college.

At Buckhorn High School in New Market, teacher Matt Massey has 49 students in his AP calculus class and another 14 that study through distance learning. Massey said he has a personal goal that most of his students can pass the AP calculus exam at the end of the year.

"It's a really rigorous class. We hit the ground running with some of the hardest content in the class," Massey said.

As part of the program, Buckhorn has opened up calculus to more students, allowing them to transfer directly in if they made an A in algebra II.

"We had to kind of think out of the box a little bit," Massey said.

Massey has recruited kids who were taking elective classes to take calculus, instead -- selling them and their parents on what it could do for them academically and assuring them he will do everything in his power to not let them fail.

"We kind of advertise it as, you are already a success just by enrolling in the class," Massey said.

One facet of the program is that students are enrolled automatically in the AP exam at the end of the year. The program pays the $87 exam fee for the students.

"Everybody takes it no matter what. It makes the kids be on the hook for something when they know they have to take that test," Massey said.

The program also provides financial incentives to students and teachers for passing the AP test. Students and teachers each get a $100 bonus for each passing score, and teachers get other incentives for exceeding goals.

Buckhorn senior Taylor Jones, 17, said that, when she was a freshman, few students at Buckhorn took calculus. Now, she said, it's almost expected if you are on the college path.

"A+ College Ready is a proven investment that is preparing our students for college and the jobs of tomorrow," Gov. Robert Bentley said in a prepared statement about the test scores.

The program is funded with $1.3 million a year from the Alabama Legislature, a $13.2 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, a $1.3 million federal grant awarded to Alabama from the U.S. Department of Education and additional matching funds from corporate donors.