Son of maintenance worker gets perfect score on AP Calculus exam -- 1 of 12 in the world to do so

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Son of maintenance worker gets perfect score on AP Calculus exam -- 1 of 12 in the world to do so

By Hailey Branson-Potts
[e-mail]
@haileybranson

January 27, 2016, 7:10 PM

The call from Lincoln High School’s principal’s office came unexpectedly, as they often do. ... Cedrick Argueta’s friends joked that he might be in trouble. Cedrick didn’t think so. ... He was right.

It turned out that Cedrick, the son of a Salvadoran maintenance worker and a Filipina nurse, had scored perfectly on his Advanced Placement Calculus exam. Of the 302,531 students to take the notoriously mind-crushing test, he was one of only 12 to earn every single point. ... “It’s crazy,” Cedrick said. “Twelve people in the whole world to do this and I was one of them? It’s amazing.”
....

Cedrick is the son of Lilian and Marcos Argueta, both of whom came to the United States as young adults – she from the Philippines, he from El Salvador. Lilian, a licensed vocational nurse, works two jobs at nursing homes. Marcos is a maintenance worker at one of those nursing homes. He never went to high school.
....

Cedrick graduates in June and hopes to attend Caltech and become an engineer. For his family, a scholarship would be a godsend.

[exboyfil]

1. If Caltech doesn't want to give him a free ride

Please look at some of the midwest schools. We would love to have him here in Iowa. Actually can I introduce my daughter to him?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Good idea. The midwest is famous for its L'Hôpitality.

That needs some explanation:

L'Hôpital's rule

It's often misprinted in college catalogs.

[exboyfil]

4. We are definitely not Leibnutz in this state

and we love our Fig Newtons. He should hitch up his DesCart and Fermat his way to us.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. It will be the last thing he ever does.

For the benefit of non-STEM types:

Fermat's Last Theorem

[cloudbase]

2. I just emailed this to my son,

who is the head of the Caltech Alumni Association in his city to see if they can do anything for him.

[nichomachus]

6. See? I told you those damn immigrants

came here because they didn't want to work and that their kids would never amount to anything.

[nichomachus]

7. BTW -- the headlines on this are kind of ticking me off

Yes, he is the son of a maintenance worker -- but he's also the son of a woman who is working three freaking jobs as a vocational nurse to provide for her family. Why don't the headlines mention that?

[FBaggins]

9. It doesn't have to.

A licensed vocational nurse has to have significantly more educational background than a maintenance worker who never even went to high school (let alone graduate from one). The title better fits the "came from nuthin'" line.

It isn't as though the story leaves her out.

[bluestateguy]

8. Hopefully colleges are rushing to give him scholarships

nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Kentridge senior gets perfect score on AP calculus exam

Kentridge senior gets perfect score on AP calculus exam

Originally published February 7, 2016 at 7:00 pm | Updated February 8, 2016 at 10:09 am



Nick Porter, a Kentridge High School student, earned a perfect score on the AP Calculus AB exam. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times)

A Kentridge senior was one of only 12 students worldwide to receive a perfect score on the exam last May. He’s the second Kentridge student to do so in the past two years.

By Paige Cornwell
Seattle Times staff reporter

A Kentridge High School senior received a perfect score on the Advanced Placement calculus exam he took last year. What are the chances of that?

Well, Nick Porter was one of 12 students worldwide to earn all 108 points possible on the calculus AB exam, which covers what’s in a first-semester college class. About 302,530 students took the exam, which lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes.
....


He hopes to major in computer science in college, and he has applied to the University of Washington, Stanford, MIT and Cal Tech. He hasn’t heard from any of the universities yet but will be sending them notice about his recent achievement.

Porter’s dad is an engineer and his mom is a paraeducator. His older brother and sister are both studying — what else? — math. He enjoys playing recreational soccer, basketball and baseball.
....

Paige Cornwell: 206-464-2530 or [e-mail]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. This teenager is one of 12 students in the world who aced the AP Calculus exam

Grade Point

This teenager is one of 12 students in the world who aced the AP Calculus exam

By Nick Anderson February 10
@wpnick



Landon Labuskes, in a classroom at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Va. (Photo by Dayna Smith/For the Washington Post)

Of the 302,532 students who took an Advanced Placement test to gauge their performance in college-level calculus last May, exactly 66,045 got the highest grade on the exam’s 5-point scale. To score a 5 is a notable accomplishment.

But just 12 students worldwide managed an extremely rare feat: They aced the AP exam known as Calculus AB, getting every answer correct on a test lasting 3 hours and 15 minutes, with 45 multiple-choice questions and six in a free-response format. They represent 0.004 percent of last year’s test takers, who were mostly high school juniors and seniors.

Meet one of this elite dozen: Landon Labuskes of Aldie, Va. He’s 15 now, a junior at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, but he was 14 and a sophomore when he took the exam.
....

Originally from Harford County, Md., Landon is the younger of two sons in his family. His parents are business executives. At school he is involved in model United Nations and model judiciary programs. He said he is an Eagle scout and aims one day to be an aerospace engineer.

[MemphisMoocows]

12. Great

I didn't know they let you know when you got a perfect score. Must mean that I didn't get one.