Hempstead High School graduate Rebecca Weires was confident that she performed well on her United States Government and Politics Advanced Placement (AP) Exam when she took it in spring 2013. But, she had no idea just how well she actually did.

Weires, who is now a student at Vanderbilt University, received the highest score of 5 on the exam and was one of only two students in the world to earn every point possible on the test. This means that she answered every multiple-choice question correctly and earned the maximum scores on each of the essays in the free-response section of the exam.

“We are extremely proud of Rebecca and her accomplishments at Hempstead High School,” said Hempstead Principal Lee Kolker. “She was involved in numerous Mustang activities and programs and served as a great role model for all students.” Kolker also noted this as an honor for Weires’ AP teacher Joel Miller and the staff at Hempstead for providing “challenging and rewarding academic experiences for all our students.”

The Advanced Placement Exams are written and scored by college professors from around the world, and are typically designed to cover a full-year of intensive, college-level knowledge and skills – making it very rare for a high school student to earn every point possible on the exam.

Based on the 4 million AP Exams taken by 2.2 million students in 2013 in subjects ranging from art history to calculus, a total of 109 students earned every possible point on an AP exam – a result characterized by the College Board’s AP Program as “an extraordinary academic achievement.”

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses while still in high school. In 2013, students received scores of 3 or higher on 59 percent of exams, potentially qualifying them for college credit or advanced placement (or both) at colleges and universities worldwide.

For more information, contact the DCSD School and Community Relations Office at (563)552-3020.

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