The New Palestine Community School Board recognized New Palestine High School teachers Lisa Hardin (second from left) and Misty Wheatley (third from left). The teachers are responsible for Advanced Placement (AP) examinations where their students had 100% pass rates on their AP courses and AP exams in 2023-24.
NEW PALESTINE — While it’s difficult for students to get perfect scores all the time in high school, earning perfection in Advanced Placement classes is even tougher, yet not impossible.
Officials at New Palestine High School (NPHS) recently proved that. During the most recent school board meeting officials with New Palestine Community Schools recognized NPHS teachers Lisa Hardin and Misty Wheatley after their students in 2023-24 had a 100% pass rate on their AP courses and AP exams.
“The achievement of 100 percent of your students passing the Advanced Placement (AP) Exams is a testament to your remarkable instruction,” school board officials said in a letter to the educators. “You have made a tremendous impact on both your students and our school community. Your hard work not only guided your students to excel on these rigorous exams but also elevated our high school performance to outstanding levels at both the county and state levels. This accomplishment speaks volumes about your ability to inspire and prepare students for success, and it reflects the high standards of excellence you set in your classroom.”
Hardin noted all AP courses are year-long courses taught at college level and AP courses cover material more quickly and with more nuance because they are equivalent to freshmen and sophomore college courses.
“Just to clarify, students do not ‘pass’ an AP exam; instead, they earn a qualifying score,” Hardin said. “A ‘qualifying score’ means the student’s performance on the exam is sufficient to earn college credit for the course.”
Hardin noted how happy she was that 100% of their AP calculus students earned college credit based on their exam performance.
“AP exams are national tests based on a clearly stated set of skills and concepts students should master to demonstrate competence in the content,” Hardin said.
The College Board sets the standards and the cut scores for all AP exams. It means every student in the United States who takes the test is assessed on the exact same rubric.
“We are thrilled that our students meet and exceed this benchmark,” Hardin said. “AP courses cover far more than the exam, and we are excited by the reward of college credit. We are confident that our students are learning skills that can help them in college and beyond.”
In the past, Hardin noted they have averaged around 80% with their AP calculus students earning a qualifying score.
“I feel like all of our students are capable of earning a qualifying score and last year they all did,” Hardin said.
Last May, 30 of 30 AP calculus students earned a qualifying score and 15 of 15 AP calculus students earned a qualifying score.
Wheatley noted last school year was the very first year she had ever taught an AP course, however, she has been teaching trigonometry/pre calculus for over 20 years.
“I took advantage of a lot of the Advanced Placement-Teacher Investment Program, (AP-TIP) workshops provided and teacher collaborations,” Wheatley said “I could not have had the success without the help from the staff, administration, and workshop facilitators.”
Wheatley noted she was surprised by the 100% passing because this was the first time for the AP pre calculus course. Officials said the high school had one class of AP pre calculus last year in which all of the students in that class passed the exam given to them at the end of the 2024 school year.
“At New Palestine High School students can take trigonometry/pre calculus or AP pre calculus as an advanced math course,” Wheatley said. “In both courses students learn skills that prepare them for college. However, AP pre calculus allows students the opportunity to earn college credit through the passing of an exam at the end of the school year.”
The teachers went on to say AP courses are open to all students and that AP courses are popular in their Early College program.
