Column: District 518 students shine on ACT exams

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District 518

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WORTHINGTON — Worthington High School students had another outstanding year on the Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

WHS offers the following courses, and then students can choose to take the exam and score well enough to be awarded college credit: AP US History, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, AP Biology, AP Calculus and AP Music Theory.

The exams are compromised of multiple choice and free-response (essay) questions. Students receive scores of 1-5, with 3, 4 and 5 usually being awarded college credit.

The following students scored at least a 3 on the following exams:

AP US History: Thomas Burns, Andrew Fornoff, Turner Hagen, Nathan Landwehr, Larry Leovan, Elizabeth Luke, Jojamba Matthews, Jennifer Mayorga, Gordon Moore, Dillon Pedersen, Karen Riley, Timothy Skog, Jacob Woll.

AP Chemistry: Zachary Brandt, Shane Pedersen, Anna Tims.

AP English Literature and Composition: Daniel Anderson, Genevieve Bern, Jeremy Clark, William Collin, Ellen Dudley, Thomas Martin, Emily Penning, Isaac Wass.

AP Psychology: Daniel Anderson, Claire Bents, Jeremy Clark, Brianna Darling, Stephanie Garcia, Thomas Martin, Matthew Sorensen, Rachel Sternke, Anna Tims.

AP Biology: Genevieve Bern, Emily Penning, Isaac Wass.

AP Calculus: Jeremy Clark, Ellen Dudley, Shane Pedersen, Isaac Wass, Matthew Wesselink.

AP World History (Independent Study): Jeremy Clark.

Seven WHS students recently earned AP Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the AP exams.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school, and to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on the AP exams. About 18 percent of the more than 1.9 million students worldwide who took AP exams performed at a sufficiently high level to also earn an AP Scholar Award.

The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on students’ performance on AP Exams.

 At Worthington High School, one student qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. This student is Jeremy Clark.

Six students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with scores of 3 or higher. The AP Scholars are: Genevieve Bern, Ellen Dudley, Shane Pedersen, Emily Penning, Anna Tims and Isaac Wass.

Of this year’s award recipients at WHS, one was a junior: Anna Tims. She has at least one more year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn a higher-level AP Scholar Award.

AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement and stand out in the college admission process. Each exam is developed by a committee of college and university faculty and AP teachers, ensuring that AP exams are aligned with the same high standards expected by college faculty at some of the nation’s leading liberal arts and research institutions.

More than 3,800 colleges and universities annually receive AP scores. Most four-year colleges in the United States provide credit and/or advanced placement for qualifying exam scores. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher college graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.

The College Board is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools.

Sam Goldsmith Becker is a social studies teacher at Worthington High School.

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