Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School is one of 46 Massachusetts schools districts named to the College Board's 2012 AP District Honor Roll for expanding access to Advanced Placement curriculum.

Superintendent Michael Harvey recently announced the honor in a message to parents, noting the school has made "significant gains in access to AP courses and student performance on AP exams."

The high school was included on the AP District Honor Roll because it met one of the College Board's criteria:

Increasing access to AP courses by:

• At least 4% in large districts
• At least 6% in medium districts
• At least 11% in small district

Schools can also qualify for the honor if performance levels were maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of exams scoring 3 or higher from 2010 to 2012.

More school districts from Massachusetts earned a spot on the honor roll than any other state in the nation. A total of 539 districts across the U.S. and Canada were selected for the third annual AP Honor Roll.

"I congratulate these school districts for their efforts to expand access to, and success in, coursework that signals readiness for a college level curriculum," said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester in a written announcement. "In Massachusetts, we are encouraging our schools to upgrade their program of study so that all students are ready for success beyond high school. The Commonwealth's status of being the state with the most AP honor roll awardees is evidence of progress toward this goal."