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AP Testing Distinction

AP Testing Distinction

Jesuit High School's Advanced Placement (AP) courses generated outstanding test results again in 2023, achieving a school-record overall pass rate of 84.1%!

The school's AP program continued its overall excellence, with more than 1,100 exams taken (1,117) for the third time in four years, and more than 450 students enrolled in the AP program (451) for the fourth time in five years.

Among the 27 AP courses offered at Jesuit in 2022-23, a school-record 13 achieved a 90% pass rate or better, and 17 achieved an 80% pass rate, equaling the school record. The 84.1% overall mark edged out the 84% achieved in 2016 and 2018 for the best in school history.

AP test scores are reported on a 5-point scale, with a 3 or better considered passing. American universities typically grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores. Jesuit's overall pass rate of 84.1 once again is well above the global (66%) and state (62%) averages despite Jesuit's requirement that all enrolled AP students must take the AP exam in that course in May; they cannot opt out, as many schools allow. This requirement maintains the integrity of Jesuit's AP program.

Seven AP courses at Jesuit produced perfect 100% pass rates in 2023: Human Geography (teacher Vindri Gajadhar), Chemistry (Julie Hust), Seminar (Austin Freeman '02), Research (Freeman), Spanish Literature and Culture (Oscarina Quinones), Latin (Nick Werner), and Comparative Government and Politics (Ian Edwards ’05).

The all-freshmen Human Geography class has been extraordinarily successful, achieving 100% the past three years and scoring above 97% all nine years it has been offered at Jesuit. The exceptional 4.71 average score of the Human Geography students this year was the highest of any AP class at Jesuit.

Seminar achieved a perfect 100% pass rate for the seventh straight year, and Research, the other component of the AP Capstone program and also taught by Freeman, scored 100% for the second straight year.

Chemistry recorded a 100% for the third straight year under Hust's direction and had the second-best average score, 4.67, of all Jesuit AP courses. Latin’s 100% pass rate (4.5 average score) was more than 43% higher than the national average and 59% above the state average.

Spanish Literature and Culture (Quinones) scored 100% for the second straight year, and the 100% pass rate achieved by Comparative Government and Politics (Edwards) is 34% above the state average.

Near-perfect pass rates were achieved on AP exams this year in English Language and Composition (97.9%, Angela Hamrick), which was over 90% for the third straight year, and English Literature and Composition (95.9%, Greg Malafronte '05), which surpassed 90% for a second straight year.

Also achieving above a 90% pass rate were Computer Science Principles (95.8%, Jason Lublin) and Psychology (95.7%, Bill Eggert ’77). Psychology has sustained consistent excellence, never scoring below 89% in nine years at Jesuit, all with Eggert teaching the class. Also exceeding 90% in 2023 were Spanish Language and Culture (91.3%, Bert Roney) and World History (90.9%, Mike Phillips), which was above 90% for the first time at Jesuit.

Additional courses scoring very high on the AP exams in 2023 included Statistics (88.5%, Ruston Broussard), Environmental Science (87.5%, Lauren Maguire), and Biology (85.2%, Kelly Kim).

Of the 451 Jesuit students enrolled in one or more AP courses during the 2022-23 school year, 90% scored a 3 or better on an AP test, which also is a school record.

“Our students and teachers have once again demonstrated a very high level of performance in AP testing,” said Debbie Pacheco, Jesuit's assistant principal for academics. “We are extremely proud of their dedication toward achieving academic excellence.”

Under Pacheco's leadership, Jesuit has maintained consistently strong AP results while growing the AP program. The record 84.1% overall pass rate in 2023 marks the 10th consecutive year the school has tallied an overall AP pass rate of 76% or better and is the third time the school has reached the 84% mark.

In the past decade, the number of AP courses offered, AP students, and AP exams given at Jesuit has increased dramatically. In 2012, Jesuit offered 11 AP courses; the past three years, the school has offered 27 or more each year. In 2012, 145 Jesuit AP students took 247 AP exams; the past five years, Jesuit has averaged more than 450 AP students taking more than 1,100 AP exams.

The Advanced Placement program, created by the College Board, offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in that field of study.