Ánimo Pat Brown has been improving their test scores year after year, including their California High School Exit Exam scores. The class of 2014 got their CAHSEE results on Thursday, May 17, and a large majority of the sophomore class was happy with their results. According to their CST scores, the sophomores were not expected to get very high results. However, their CAHSEE results surpassed the teachers’ expectations.

In comparison to the juniors’ results, the sophomores did better in the Math section by 1.1%, but went down on the English section by 4.6%.

The class of 2013’s CAHSEE results has been the highest score in English and had more students get proficient, but this year’s class beat the seniors’ pass rate. To help the tenth graders, Principal Joshua Hartford said that there was more writing in all classes to do better on the essay. In addition to more writing, they had CAHSEE prep twice a week in Guidance.

“We had year round prep in my class and in Mr. Reed’s class,” tenth grade English teacher Hayley Beaupré said.

Sophomore Shanai Beime felt that the CAHSEE prep classes prepared her more than what was needed. However, sophomore Adan Medina felt that Guidance helped somewhat, but not a whole lot. Either way, Guidance CAHSEE Prep was made to help out as much as it possibly can, and students should take advantage of these opportunities, as most schools do not provide this assistance.

For those who did not pass the CAHSEE, APB offers many opportunities to retake it. “We allow the students to take it twice in the 11th grade and 3 times in the 12th grade and there have been some students who even passed it on their last try,” Hartford said. Luckily, he says, no one has not graduated as a result of not passing the CAHSEE.

Even though the 2012 CAHSEE English pass rate was a bit lower, Hartford said Mrs. Beaupré did a fantastic job in her first CAHSEE prep class.

“I was very pleased with the results and satisfied with the passing rate. I was glad that it stayed in the 80 percent range,” Beaupré said.

This year’s freshmen should expect their sophomore year to be filled with CAHSEE and CST prep. “Pay attention in CAHSEE Prep in Guidance,” Shanai said. “It really helps you remember things you’ve forgotten over the years.”

With the introduction of the CATCH method this year, teachers were hoping to improve the English pass rate. The freshmen are more likely to use this method to their advantage next year, since they are already much more used to it than this year’s sophomores were.

Sophomore Jocelyn Aceves said, “ I learned new ways to read passages by using the CATCH method,” which she learned in her CAHSEE Prep class.

Entering APB in the tenth grade, she felt that with the help of this school she did better in the CAHSEE than she would have if she stayed in her old school.

“I got proficient in the English section and in the Math section which I didn’t think I would have passed; I got a 370 on the Math section,” Jocelyn said.

“Math CAHSEE Prep helped me the most because it refreshed my memory of all the things I had forgotten before,” Shanai said.

The teachers are still very impressed with the scores this year. “It’s still above from a few years ago,” Beaupré said.

Next year’s group, however, should do better than this year’s group.

“Study and listen to the teachers,” Adan said. “I would have listened to them more if I could have had the chance to do it over again.”

The sophomores now have had one weight lifted off of their backs. Next year, however, they will undergo SAT and ACT prep and will have double the amount of work compared to this year.