At the end of the school year, close to 50 students in Chelsea High School’s (CHS) AP calculus and statistics classes took and passed their respective advanced placement tests – scoring a 3 or higher on a 5-point scale.
For those who might not know the difference, calculus is defined as “the mathematical study of change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape and algebra is the study of operations and their application to solving equations.”
While statistics is defined as “the study of the collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and organization of data. Also, it can be said that statistics is a branch of applied mathematics.”
Teacher Chris Orlandi said for 2024, the national pass rate for the AP standardized tests was 64 percent, and the pass rate for statistics was 62 percent.
Chelsea students’ pass rate for these tests was 100 percent.
So why are the Chelsea students so successful? One reason, Orlandi said, is the continuity of the high school’s math department teaching staff, each with 20-plus years in the field.
The top score on AP tests is a 5. Nationally, 21% of calculus AB students received 5’s; 75% of Chelsea High School AB calculus testers received a 5 this year.
In statistics, the national percentage of 5’s is 17 percent; yet 42 percent of CHS statistics students received a 5.
Over the past 3 years, 120 students have taken AP Calculus or Statistics tests and all 120 have passed.
Over the last two decades, Orlandi has taught AP math classes at Chelsea High School, the calculus pass rate is 99.6 percent.
