We continue to see more qualification scores each year showing growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Sara Camren | Imagine Prep Surprise Cambridge coordinator and biology teacher

This spring 81 Imagine Prep high school students earned honors credit or college-ready qualification scores during the June 2024 Cambridge examination series, with three students earning the Grand Canyon Diploma.

Seniors Kristiana Corrales, Blake McCann and Emily Willkom earned qualifying scores on their final exams, which were the final qualifying scores needed to earn the Grand Canyon Diploma. These students will be awarded the GCD upon completion of their economics course this spring.

Earning the GCD means that a student has the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in university, college level, and technical school courses that count toward a degree without taking remedial coursework. The GCD is performance-based and shows that students are prepared for college, career and life.

IPS teaches a Cambridge curriculum in which students engage in rigorous coursework to prepare them for the examination series in the spring. Students sat exams in FLE, literature, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, American history and world history.

To qualify as a college-ready score, students need to earn a C on all exams except FLE, which requires a B to qualify.

Accompanying the three GCD recipients, the top earners for each exam in the spring series were recognized.

Willkom earned an A on the literature exam and a B on American history, Senior Kyle Walter earned a C on physics, junior Maxwell Loper earned a B on world history and a C on chemistry, sophomore Abigail Devery earned a C on biology and freshman Amelia DeRosa earned an A on FLE and a B on mathematics.

DeRosa completed these exams as an eighth grader.

Imagine Prep Surprise Cambridge Coordinator and biology teacher Sara Camren said she was pleased with the spring series testing results.

“The Imagine Prep Surprise Staff is so proud of the time and effort that all students put into preparing for and taking Cambridge exams in the June 2024 exam series,” Camren said. “We continue to see more qualification scores each year showing growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Students who tested in the June 2024 Cambridge testing class were celebrated with donuts and discussion of results on Aug. 16.

Eight students are only one exam away from earning the GCD, and two students are only two exams away from earning the GCD. Some students will opt in to retake some exams in the fall, or wait until the spring 2025 exam series.