North Penn Student Earns Extremely Rare Perfect AP Exam Score

LANSDALE, PA — North Penn Sophomore Benjamin Curlee was one of just six students in the world to earn a perfect score on the AP Computer Science Principles exam last year, the school district has announced.

Curleee, who took the test in May 2017, had a score that "was so superior that it falls into a rather select category," according to Trevor Packer, the senior vice president of AP and Instruction for The College Board, the organization which administers the AP exams.

Curlee answered every multiple-choice question correctly, and also earned full points on the free response question.

Perfect AP exam scores are indeed extremely rare, but the surrounding area has been exceptional in producing a few other such outliers. In 2016, Souderton Area High School senior Hirsch Sisodia earned a perfect score on the microeconomics exam (one of just 54), and also in 2016, Central Bucks South's Richard Song earned a perfect score on the AP Calculus test (one of only 12 to do so).

Curlee's perfect score, just one of six in the world in 2017, was somehow ever more unlikely.

"This outstanding accomplishment is likely a direct reflection of the top-quality education being offered at NPHS,” Packer added in a statement. "We applaud Benjamin’s hard work and also the AP teacher responsible for engaging students and enabling them to excel in a college-level course."

Millions of AP exams are taken by high school students every year. In 2017, only 511 students earned a perfect score on any of the 37 exams offered by The College Board.

Tests are scored on a one to five scale, where five is considered the equivalent of an "A" in a college-level course.

Congratulations, Benjamin!

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