To say that the Class of 2009 set a new standard for future Corbett graduates is no exaggeration. Corbett has witnessed outstanding student achievement in the recent past. Sarah, Eve, Andrew, Alex, Adam...all students that could have defined many a fine teaching career. All kids that might come along only once in a lifetime And as a group, the Class of 2007 was remarkable. New highs, in virtually everything. Then along comes the Class of 2009 and turns the page again. And it wasn't just a matter of traditional academics. These were musicians, artists, athletes, engineers, champions...a truly remarkable group.
In the State of Oregon last year, about thirteen percent of all graduating seniors passed an AP exam. In the Corbett Class of 2009, three times that number passed three or more exams each. And sixty percent passed at least one. Ten percent of the class tied or surpassed the old record for the most AP exams passed by an individual. (The old mark was nine.) Forty percent of the class earned recognition from The College Board as AP Scholars. Their awards will arrive next month. One qualified as a an AP National Scholar, and one is in the hunt for the Oregon AP Scholar award.
The class posted two perfect scores on the SAT verbal and three students exceeded Corbett's previous all-time best performances on the SAT combined. In all, Corbett's SAT participation has doubled and its average scores have increased by 120 points in the last decade. The Class of 2009 was icing on this particular cake. All of this in a class of fewer than fifty students.
How durable will their remarkable record be? If recent history is any sort of guide, I'll give them from two to four years to become the rung that another class unceremoniously passes on its way to the top. Beyond the individual achievements, and beyond the remarkable composition of some extraordinary cohorts, we are witnessing the growth of a culture in which achievement beyond this level is imaginable, and therefor almost inevitable. Will it be the Class of 2010? 2011? We'll see. Watch out for 2013, with its five freshmen in AP Calculus (ab). And if nobody else picks up the mantle first, I have a hunch about the class of 2015.
So here's to the Class of 2009. Thanks for showing a glimpse of our future, and for being giants upon whose shoulders the next great class will stand. And best of luck at Vassar, Smith, OSU, Sarah Lawrence, Willamette, Reed, Eastern, Western, U of O, Mount Hood, Southern...
