Freeport Area High School students ace AP World History exams despite pandemic

At Freeport Area High School, every AP World History student scored a passing grade on this year’s AP exam amid unusually difficult circumstances.

David DiSanti, the AP World History teacher at Freeport Area High School, said the course was historically difficult, even before the covid-19 pandemic forced schools to move to virtual platforms in March.

“The AP World History course is statistically among the most challenging courses the College Board offers,” DiSanti said. “This is a very challenging class without any extenuating factors. Then the rug gets pulled out from under us in March.”

Though in-person classes were replaced with biweekly Zoom meetings, DiSanti said his students, mostly juniors, never got lazy with their academics.

“They weren’t looking for an excuse to quit,” he said. “They were dedicated.”

Tyler Bodily, who earned the highest score possible on the exam, said it was difficult to learn outside of the classroom, noting that he missed the environment created by working face-to-face with his teacher and fellow students.

“Everything just blew up with covid,” he said. “It was kind of weird.”

But their hard work paid off, with all 16 students earning a 4 or 5 on the exam. Ten of them earned a 5 — the highest score possible.

The AP grading scale ranges 1 to 5, with a score of 3 to 5 required to pass, but 4 or 5 required for credit at many major universities.

This year, 9.2% of students nationwide earned a 5 on the exam, while 22.8% nationwide earned a 4, according to Total Registration.

This year’s test was administered online. The test traditionally consisted of multiple choice questions and several essays, which students would complete over three and a half hours. This year, the test was based on only one essay, which students had to complete in 45 minutes.

Anuj Lele, a junior who scored a 5 on the test, said the new format was challenging,

“We’d been training the whole year for a specific format, which had multiple choice and essays,” he said. “And then the College Board changed the format. It was all going to come down to one 45-minute test, which was completely different. Preparing for that was different.”

DiSanti was impressed.

“Sometimes it’s fashionable to rip on teenagers — and sometimes they deserve it, but not these kids,” he said.

“I’m proud of myself and my classmates for overcoming this once-in-a-lifetime challenge,” Lele said. “We had really limited preparation for this.”

In the five years that DiSanti has been teaching this course at Freeport Area High School, he said he had two other groups earn passing grades — but never with such extenuating circumstances.