Compared to local public schools, Fresno Christian achieved the highest pass rate for Advanced Placement (AP) exams in the 2009-10 year.
The 40 FC students who took 73 exams attained a pass rate of 77 percent.
Academic adviser Molly Sargent, who compiled these data, retrieved all the information from reports published by the College Board and by the California Department of Education.
Because public schools have not yet released their AP scores for 2010, Sargent used their 2008-09 statistics in her comparisons.
The top public schools in Fresno County all had pass rates lower than that of FC. Buchanan, in second place, had 75 percent; University High had 73 percent; Clovis High had 71 percent; Clovis West had 60 percent; and Bullard had 50 percent.
“Why our pass rate is higher is an interesting question,” Sargent said. “If I had to guess, I would say that, because our class sizes are small, we are able to give more individualized attention to our AP students. We have the luxury of spending more time grading their exams, giving them more feedback, because we don’t have as many students as public school campuses.”
The AP courses offered on campus in 2009-10 were AP Calculus AB, AP United States History, AP Biology and AP Literature and Composition. However, some students also tested in AP Language and Composition and AP Spanish Language.
The AP exams, which are administered by the College Board, are given in May of each year. Students receive a score from 1 to 5, with a 3 and above considered passing.
Positive trend in pass rate
The school’s 77 percent marks the highest pass rate in campus history. In the past few years, the number of students taking AP exams and the pass rates have generally increased.
Since the all-time low of 41 percent in 2006-07, the pass rate has grown from 68 percent in 2007-08, to 67 percent in 2008-09 and to last year’s 77 percent.
In the same way, the number of tests taken has increased over the years. Students took 39 exams in 2006-07, 53 in 2007-08, 60 in 2008-09 and 73 in 2009-10.
Of the 216 students in grades 9-12, 40 took AP tests. This figure represents 18.5 percent of the total student population.
In comparison, 4.5 percent of the students at Clovis High, 6.4 percent at Clovis West and 6.9 percent at Buchanan were enrolled in AP classes in 2008.
AP success attributed to instruction
In evaluating these data, Sargent had to determine whether the high pass rate was primarily due to the students or to the instructors.
“It’s hard to know how much of the success of the AP program here is due to the students and how much is due to the teachers,” Sargent said. “But when you look at previous years, it would appear to me that the quality of the instruction has dramatically affected our pass rate, largely due to AP teachers attending College Board workshops.”
Over the years, the school has placed greater emphasis on having a successful AP program, Sargent said.
“There has been a push in the last couple of years to increase our pass rate not for the sake of statistics, but to give our students a quality education,” Sargent said. “There has been more of an emphasis, a deliberate focus, on the part of the school and the faculty to do a better job with our AP students.”
