The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

The Student News Site of Mililani High School

Trojan Times

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Tsuruda achieves 100 percent pass rate on AP exam

By Caitlyn Resurreccion
[email protected]

Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition teacher Lisa-Anne Tsuruda, commonly referred to by her students as Aunty Lisa, achieved last year what all AP teachers dream of: The perfect 100 percent student pass rate for the AP Literature exam while simultaneously stressing college preparation and writing skills.

“My focus isn’t about the test. My focus is to prepare them for college. They’re able to read. They’re able to analyze it. They’re able to write it. And I think those skills alone will help them to do well,” said Tsuruda.

Despite the 100 percent pass rate, AP Literature is by no means an easy class. It requires a vast amount of skills in reading, analyzing, time balance and dedication. During the course, students read classic novels designated on the AP list such as “Jane Eyre,” “Lord Of The Flies” and “Hamlet.” “We are assigned a book that the whole class reads, and choose our own book (that is on the AP list) to read for the quarter,” MHS alumna Vivian Fang said. “We are quizzed frequently on the class book. These quizzes require us to write a long response, which prepares you for the essay section of the exam. Because we have both class books and a personal book​​ to read each quarter​​, our literary repertoire ​​increases, which gives us many sources to write about on the exam.” Tsuruda added, “Once you understand the schedule it becomes less straining. One thing I would like to say for any student interested in taking AP (Literature) is you have to be brave. Brave in a way that you’re able to open yourself up to other people and other ideas.”

Although Tsuruda teaches her students the basic outline for the test, she does not accredit herself, but her students for being able to achieve the 100 percent pass rate. “They threw themselves into the literature. Because we were able to connect it with things that were happening around them they were able to bring up the questions such as, ‘What does literature tell us about the human condition?’ ‘What does poetry or stories or novels tell us about being human?’ and once you get to that point where it is very universal, I think they’re able to knock it out of the ballpark,” said Tsuruda.

One aspect that helped the students perform well was the recent update of the test. More prompts are world-related modern prompts, which allowed the students to connect with them more. “I think that they noticed what kids write about,” Tsuruda said. “Recently, there was a prompt that spoke to a number of kids. They answered that prompt with ‘Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini. So whether it was the horse driving the carriage or the carriage driving the horse, literature changes just like people change.”

Even if Tsuruda accredits her students and not herself with the pass rate, they believe that most of the credit goes to her. “Aunty Lisa is super engaging as a teacher and cares a lot about her students,” said Fang. “Aunty Lisa also holds bonus sessions throughout the year, where we complete a timed multiple choice question passage, write an essay or review a poem. These are helpful because they acclimate you to the exam format and time constraints,” added MHS alumna Lydia Strickland. Both Fang and Strickland received a score of five on the exam.

With the new school year and a set of fresh faces, Tsuruda continues to teach her students and does her part to make their college career successful.

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