LYNNFIELD — The Advanced Placement program at Lynnfield High School has expanded to 15 AP courses with the addition last year of European History and Studio Arts. Test scores in both of the new classes were off the charts, with five students averaging a score of five on the Studio Arts exam and eight students averaging 3.88 on the European History exam.
“Overall, I’m pretty happy with the range of the AP scores and with the performances, especially on some of the newer tests,” said Lynnfield High School principal Bob Cleary at a recent school committee meeting. “I am excited that 114 of last year’s Lynnfield graduates took at least one AP test and I’m pretty happy with that and also happy with the fact that last year’s class represented over 440 tests that have been taken over the last three years.”
Cleary said that while the percentage of students who took three or more tests dipped slightly in 2019 to 75.5 percent, down from 80 percent in 2018, he was satisfied overall performance was not adversely affected.
“We can raise the participation but that doesn’t guarantee a good score,” Cleary said. “But what we are seeing is we raised participation and we are consistently outperforming the national average and global average.”
Guidance department director Kathryn Moody said that increasing the number of test takers brings with it a slew of logistical problems.
“Having a lot of kids take the test can pose problems,” she said. “The problem is that when the classes are so large, it is hard to find space. We had to use the gym last year in at least one instance and, even with that, you still have kids four feet apart trying to take a three-hour exam.”
Psychology was by far the most popular AP class with 95 students taking the test in 2019 and 96 taking the test in 2018. The average score dipped to 3.00 last year, down from 3.16 in 2018.
Fifty-three students took U.S. History with the average score being 3.40, down from 3.91 in 2018.
Cleary said he is not concerned that some scores were lower than the year before.
“We try not to compare scores to the previous year as it is a different group of kids. I am pleased because our scores continue to outpace state and national scores (for the most part) and English Language/Composition was the third most popular. The 51 students who took that exam averaged 3.59, down slightly from the 2018 average of 3.70.
The only two classes with improved scores from 2018 were Physics and Chemistry.
Twenty-one students took the Physics exam and posted an average of 4.10, an impressive increase over the 2018 mark of 3.29 when 17 students took the test. In Chemistry, 22 students posted an average score of 2.82, up slightly from the mark of 2.80 established by 35 students in 2018.
Lynnfield had 78 AP Scholars last year, compared to 75 the year before. Students must score three or more on three tests to qualify.
The number of AP Scholars with Honors dipped from 36 to 28. Students must average a minimum of 3.25 and a score of three or more on four tests to qualify.
The number of AP Scholars with Distinction was unchanged from last year with 23 students posting an average of 3.5 and a score of three or more on five tests.
Lynnfield students continued to be strong in one of the highest AP recognition levels with six students receiving AP National Scholars honors reserved for students who score four or more in eight tests.
“That shows the caliber of students we have,” said Cleary. “When you look at the number of students who are recognized as AP scholars it is an indication of our continued excellence with these assessments,” he said.
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
