Chelsea High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) scores are one indication that the district is rebounding strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The latest results released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education show Chelsea High School students outperforming their counterparts across the nation and in the state on the AP exams.
In Chelsea, 41 percent of high school students passed their AP exams in 2022, exceeding both the Massachusetts passing rate (30.5 percent) and the national passing rate (21.6 percent). To pass an AP exam, a student must score a 3 (out of 5) or higher.
“The passing rate is Chelsea High School’s third-highest AP pass rate since 2015, and students posted notable scores on the AP Calculus AB and the AP Spanish language exams,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Almi Abeyta. “The passing rate in AP Calculus AB was Chelsea High School’s highest ever in that exam in a single year.”
The passing rate for the calculus exam was 86.4 percent, and the passing rate for the Spanish language exam was 80 percent.
Abeyta said Chelsea High students continue to show post-pandemic academic growth and recovery, with passing AP scores increasing by nearly 10 percent compared to the 2021 data.
“We are really excited about that,” said Abeyta. “We’re trending in the right direction and I want to congratulate our educators and our students.”
Chelsea’s passing scores exceeded the rates from school districts such as Lynn, Saugus, Lawrence and Worcester. The superintendent stated that the significance of passing an AP exam is that, in most cases, colleges will equate a passing score to earning a college credit or satisfying a particular course requirement.
CHS students took AP exams in the subject areas of Arts, English Language Arts, Foreign Languages, History and Social Science, Math and Computer Science and Science and Technology.
In addition, at last week’s School Committee meeting, Abeyta announced that Chelsea High School Calculus AB teacher Monika Sulima was named a 2023 Partners in Excellence Teachers Award recipient from Mass Insight Education and Research.
Abeyta said Sulima was one of 16 AP teachers from across the state honored for their exemplary work.
Abeyta also announced that Adam Deleidi had been promoted from assistant superintendent to deputy superintendent of the district.