Caeley Sacher
In 2018, T.C. Williams has improved its Advanced Placement test scores, having 72% of AP students scoring a three or higher on their exams. This is a significant increase within the last thirteen years, when in 2005 only 39% of students passed their AP exams. With more than one third of students from the King Street campus taking AP courses, these scores are at a record high.
AP English teacher Matthew Zahn said, “We are seeing the culmination of a lot of decisions that have been made over the last decade or fifteen years, one of them being open enrollment for AP classes. More students are taking them, and the school board started paying for AP tests for all students in the early 2000’s.”
Zahn believes that because all students now have this access and that the school does not require prerequisites that students must have, more students are inclined to take such classes.
Not only do these new inclusive advancements benefit the scores of AP students, the teachers also play a large role in the student’s success. “It says a lot about our teaching staff, they go through pretty intense training in order to be able to teach AP courses. It requires a lot of time away from their classrooms in order to train to be AP teachers. They’re some of our most thoughtful and dynamic teachers and it says a lot about how they engage students,” said Principal Peter Balas.
Most students attest to how important it is that they have the opportunity to take college-level courses while still in high school as well as the large role that the way teachers orchestrate their classes effects test scores. “Teachers understand that what they’re teaching is hard and that it is a college level class so they make plans that cater to the students and the classes, especially if they see that someone is slacking they will do exercises to help them get better at that one thing. They also focus really hard on the test from the beginning to make sure that you are as prepared as possible, and that goes a really long way,” said senior Bria Files.
Students also say that a major reason they took AP classes and excelled was in order to impress colleges and to be adequately prepared for the courses they will take after high school. “…Students have more reasons to pass tests for college, and a lot more people took APs,” said senior Campbell Dickson.
As the number of students who pass their exams increases it continues to prove the dedication that T.C. students, teachers, and the school board have towards the success and future of the students.
