SAMOHI Students Post Record Scores

Juliet McShannon
Staff Writer

Nov. 23 -- Santa Monica High School students posted record-high test scores in a nationwide college placement exam, with more students taking the test than in previous years, district officials said.

Results posted by SAMOHI students in the Advanced Placement Exam (APE) -- given in a host of subjects to juniors and seniors at both public and private schools -- show a sharp increase in high scores for the 2002-2003 school year.

Test results released this month showed 19.9 percent of the students posting a 5 score -- which indicates mastery in a subject and guarantees a year's worth of college credit -- compared to 13.2 percent the previous year. The percentage of students posting 4 scores rose from 32.5 to 42.5 percent.

"These results are the highest in the school's history," said School Superintendent John Deasy. ""We have had some phenomenal leaps last year… There has been a targeted focus around achievement at all levels to increase APEs."

The test scores at SAMOHI show a dramatic increase in the number of students both taking an APE course and taking the placement exam, Deasy said.

In the 2002-2003 school year, 758 students took the exam, with 1,522 tests taken, or an average of 2.01 tests per student. That compares to 678 students taking the test the previous year, with 1,273 tests taken, or an average of 1.88 tests per student.

By comparison, only 314 students took the test in the 1996-97 school year. That year only 16.6 percent of the test-takers posted a 4 and 8.6 percent posted a 5.

"We are trying to increase the percentages of the students who take the tests, and get them to take more than one course and do well," Deasy said. "It is common for students to take an APE course for enrichment purposes only, but not actually take the test.

"We are encouraging students to take more APE courses. There has been a greater outreach to the students, and a focus on students who haven't traditionally been in APE courses. We have opened more APE classes and are finding more teachers to teach the APE coursework in greater numbers."

The APE courses are based on a universal curriculum issued by the College Board. In terms of Jay Mathews's Achievement Index, last year's test results place SAMOHI among the top 125 schools in the country.

"We aim to be in the top 100," Deasy said. "We track this data very carefully because they are an indicator of the general health of the highest quality of the work in the school."