An international school in Taipei has excelled again this year in the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exams, surpassing the global average by 32 percentage points.
Ninety-three percent of AP exam papers completed by Dominican International School students achieved scores of 3 or higher, 4 percentage points above the national average of 89 percent and 32 percentage points above the global average of 61 percent, the school said.
Furthermore, 46 percent of the exam papers by students from the school achieved the maximum score of 5, the school said.
The AP exams, which test high-school students’ ability to perform at college level, score students in a range of 1 to 5.
Students who earn a score above 2 can qualify for credits at colleges or universities.
It is the second consecutive year that the school’s test results have surpassed the global and national average.
Its results have improved sharply in recent years. In 2010, only 58 percent of students from the school achieved scores of 3 or higher, which was below the global and national average.
Mercia de Souza, head of the school’s language arts department, said on Thursday that she believes the hiring of teachers with doctorates, the growing use of online resources and small class sizes are some of the factors that have contributed to the students’ improved performances.
More than 2,700 students from 19 schools around the nation took part in the AP exam this year, according to data from the US-based College Board, which administers the exam.
AP exams are held in May each year and the results are made available in July.
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