Hillsborough County high schoolers passed Advanced Placement exams at the highest rate in district history this year, and kindergartners through second-graders at Apollo Beach K-8 will trade daily screen-based programs for printed books beginning with the 2026-27 school year, which starts Monday, Aug. 10.

The district's AP pass rate hit 71% in 2026, up from 53% in 2022. That 18-percentage-point climb means nearly 20,000 individual AP exams earned qualifying scores out of more than 30,000 taken across the district, according to HCPS data released in July. Lennard High School in Ruskin and East Bay High School both participate in the AP program, though the district has not published school-level pass rates.

No school-specific data were released.

"71% of our students passed their AP exam, which is once again our highest in district history," Superintendent Van Ayres said at a Wednesday, Aug. 5, media briefing at Lamb Elementary School in Tampa, as reported by WFLA. "Since 2022, we have increased the AP pass rate by an impressive 18 percentage points."

K-2 classrooms go analog

For families with younger children at Apollo Beach K-8, the change is hands-on. Three screen-based literacy and math programs, i-Ready, Amira and Imagine Learning, will no longer be part of daily instruction in grades K-2. Students will instead spend that time reading printed books, writing, discussing ideas and building skills through active learning.

Ayres said the policy is grounded in research showing young children learn best through direct interaction with teachers, classmates and physical materials. The same shift applies at Lennard's feeder schools and East Bay's feeder network.

Broader momentum

The AP milestone is one piece of a larger turnaround. Hillsborough earned an "A" district grade from the Florida Department of Education for 2025-26, its first since 2014. Seventy-four schools earned an A and 53 earned a B. For the first time, every historically low-performing "transformation school" earned at least a C; none received a D or F.

Teacher vacancies have also dropped, from more than 650 two years ago to fewer than 200 heading into this school year, with Ayres saying the district has recruited educators from Pasco and Polk counties.

What else changes for South Shore students

Middle and high schoolers at Lennard and East Bay will sit for 82 fewer semester exams this year after the district eliminated them to free up instructional time. Every PreK-through-8th-grade student at Apollo Beach K-8 will also get a free field trip, funded through the community-approved millage referendum.

Classes begin Monday, Aug. 10. The district has not published orientation or back-to-school night schedules for Lennard, East Bay or Apollo Beach K-8 as of Thursday, Aug. 6.