Indiana high school student becomes 1st in world to get perfect score on AP calculus exam

More than half of class scored 5 on AP calculus AB exam

ByEmily Arnold, WBND
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Indiana student 1st in world to get perfect score on AP calc exam
Indiana high school student Felix Zhang became the 1st person in the world to get a perfect score on the AP calculus AB exam.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- An Indiana high school student has become the only person in the world to land a perfect score on an AP calculus exam.

Denise White has taught different levels of calculus at Penn High School in St. Joseph County, Indiana for 30 years now, WBND reported.

And College Board administers worldwide AP calc exams every year. The point system ranges from one to five, with a three or higher considered a passing score.

"They did super well. I'm very proud of them," White said.

While more than half of her class scored a five on the AP calc "AB" exam, one student achieved the unprecedented.

"It was really nice being able to have a perfect score. It was pretty surprising," said Felix Zhang, a Penn High School junior.

Zhang is the only student in the entire world -- ever -- to earn a perfect score.

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He didn't miss a single point.

"I wanted to do well on it, and I prepared a lot, but I never actually thought about getting a perfect score before," Zhang said.

With support from his calculus teacher and parents, who are also math professors at Indiana University South Bend and Notre Dame, you could say that math runs in his blood.

"My parents help me a lot; they're also in the math field - math professors," Zhang said. "I told my parents, and they were very happy about it."

While many attribute White's instruction to Zhang's success, she said all of the credit goes to him.

"Felix did everything -- all of the credit should go to Felix and the hard work he does. I'm just glad I could be his teacher and sort of guide him through and help him along to reach his full potential," White said.

Zhang is still figuring out where to place that potential.

"I'm not sure what I want to do or which schools I want to go into yet," he said.