Cornerstone Academy celebrates 80% AP pass rate

Press release from Cornerstone Academy

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Students and faculty of Cornerstone Academy joined together on July 10 for a festive dinner at Northwest Grille in Gainesville to celebrate their extremely impressive Advanced Placement testing results from their Rhetoric (Upper) School. 

With summer traveling, not all of the victorious students could attend. Out of 25 total students, 15 AP tests were attempted, with 12 scores of 3 or better (considered “passing”). That adds up to a stellar 80% pass rate! It was excellent for a small classical Christian School, but last year was even better, when every single student passed every single AP test attempted. To allow students maximum experience, Cornerstone doesn’t discourage weaker students from trying these rigorous college-level tests.  

For the third year in a row, every one of Doreen Tomlin’s English students passed every AP English test they took. Her pass rate of 100% this year again trounced the national pass rate of 74%.

But STEM Science and Math teachers at Cornerstone were right there with the English Department.   Cornerstone posted one attempt each at PreCalculus, Physics I, and the elusive Physics II, which is rarely taught at the high school level. Every one of those attempts was successful, against lower national pass rates of 81%, 66%, and 72% respectively.  

In Chemistry, three Cornerstone students attempted the test after only one year of Chemistry, instead of the usual full high school chemistry year, followed by a year of AP Chemistry. Those students achieved an impressive 66% pass rate in spite of their limited time in the subject. For AP Biology and AP Environmental Science, two students tried each, with a 50% pass rate on each, versus a national passing rate of 71% and 69%.   

Overall there was an extremely high student participation rate, with a 60% ratio of tests taken to students enrolled in 9th-12th grades. In fact, the school had almost one AP test passed for every two students enrolled. Their numbers were bolstered by the admirable graciousness of St Francis Catholic Academy, which arranged for an incoming transfer student to be able to continue AP Physics via online courses with a Cornerstone professor.   

Private non-profit Cornerstone Academy (https://cornerstoneacademy.school/) pursues a historically classical type of Christian education that prepares students to examine evidence carefully, reach solid conclusions, and be able to persuasively present claims and evidence – all skills that fit very well with Advanced Placement coursework. The highly successful college-preparatory school is entering its 26th year of service to the community under the experienced guidance of Headmaster Jaime Cline, an accomplished Science teacher.