STUDENT ACES
AP EXAM
1 of 2 in World to Achieve Perfection
R
ajeev Godse knew he did well on the Advanced
Placement (AP) Statistics Exam that he took
last year, but he never would have anticipated
receiving a perfect score.
The Fox Chapel Area High School junior was one of two
students in the world among 222,501 who took the AP
assessment to accomplish the feat – or broken down in a way
Rajeev would appreciate – just 0.001 percent of the test-takers
were able to manage the achievement.
“At the time, I thought that the test went well and that my
efforts in class had prepared me for most of the types of
questions I saw, but I would have thought that I made an error
on there somewhere for sure,” Rajeev said.
Rajeev is quick to credit his math teachers for their role in
his success.
“On the exam, I was most directly helped by Mrs. (Antoinette)
Payner and her course, one that prepared me well using a lot
of content from the exam, as well as by my participation in
the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) and the
Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair, where I’ve
had to put stats to use,” he said. “Math, in general, I’ve learned
from a lot of other great teachers: Mrs. Yacamelli, Mrs. Farino,
Mr. Barle, Ms. Schaffold, Mr. Dutelle, and Mrs. Malecki being
among them.”
While Rajeev shies away from talking about his achievement,
his teacher believes he deserves every bit of the recognition.
“Rajeev is an incredibly intelligent and talented young man,”
said Mrs. Payner, his AP statistics instructor. “Not surprisingly,
he picked up the material quickly, was helpful to his peers, and
has a natural curiosity for learning. I am thrilled this amazing
feat happened to such a nice student.”
Rajeev also attributes his academic accomplishments to his
participation in various extracurricular activities.
“I also have practiced these skills through the math
competitions sponsored by our gifted programs and clubs. My
success, I think, comes from being well-rounded, which I try
to do by staying active in our debate, Model United Nations,
and DESI (Distinguished Ethnic Society of India) clubs.”
Though Rajeev’s perfect score on the statistics exam is a first
for him, he’s done quite well on other AP assessments.
Last year, he also took the AP tests in world history, physics,
and calculus, and scored a 5 – the equivalent of an A in the
corresponding college course – on each of them.
For now, Rajeev isn’t quite sure what the future holds, but he
plans to narrow his options as he enters his senior year.
“My passion for math points me toward computer science
or engineering, but I think I’ll figure out what I want to
do when I have some real experiences in those fields in
college,” he said.
Rajeev Godse is congratulated by members of the Fox Chapel Area
School Board.
FOX CHAPEL AREA
❘
SUMMER 2019
17