Another 920 county graduates and current students were recognized for their strong performance on the exams, providing MCPS with a significant increase in the number of honorees for the second consecutive year.

In 1999 and 1998, the College Board, which sponsors the AP Program, honored 808 and 668 local students, respectively.

These recent distinctions follow a school system analysis showing that 56 percent of MCPS students were enrolled in Honors and AP courses last year, the highest percentage since 1990.

The 10 national scholars achieved that honor by scoring an average grade of 4 or higher on eight or more AP exams on full-year, college-level courses. Listed by high school, the national scholars are:

Montgomery Blair High School: Daniel Martin (12 grade)

Winston Churchill High School: Elissa Kline and Andrea Stewart

Walter Johnson High School: Michael Chow and Daniel Notzon

Richard Montgomery High School: Kenneth Ayres and Yuehann Chin

Quince Orchard High School: Alicia Sansonetti

Walt Whitman High School: Jeffrey Kessler

Thomas S. Wootton High School: Rajesh Kurpad

The 920 additional honorees earned one of these three designations:

AP Scholars (454 students) for earning grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams.

AP Scholars with Honor (235 students) for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.

AP Scholars with Distinction (231 students) for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

The exams are graded on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest grade.

Richard Montgomery High School topped the county with a total of 178 students honored. Sixty-three of those students were Scholars with Distinction.

The examination grades were sent to about 3,000 colleges and universities that use AP exam results to grant course credit and/or advanced placement for enrollees.