While most teachers spend their summer breaks relaxing, vacationing, and spending time with family and friends, veteran DLS Math teacher Catherine Leix spent several days in June reading and grading Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Read more about DLS AP results  

A teacher in the DLS Math Department since 2012, Leix read the written portion of the AP Calculus AB exams from June 11- 20 in the comfort of her own home.

“The timing worked well with my schedule,” she said. “DLS was already out of school, but my summer swim coaching season hadn’t fully started.” 

Leix signed up to read the tests online, an option available since 2020 when students took AP exams online during the COVID19 pandemic. The 2024 in-person site for the Calculus exams was in Kansas City, Missouri. 

She welcomed the opportunity to gain insights into the scoring procedures.

“As an AP teacher, you don’t grade the most important exam they take all year,” Leix said. “Marking schemes for free response questions are made available, so you have an idea of how the exams are graded, but actually participating in the grading gave me great insight into the scoring procedures.”

She added, “The College Board does a great job with the training, allowing you to practice on several student sets before grading. Whenever I was unsure on a score, I could also refer to my table leader, even virtually. It was a great experience for me to learn more about how to help my students earn the highest score possible.”

Leix noted that her 2024 AP Calculus AB students had their best scores ever, passing the state and national averages. 

Leix read a couple of hundred exams online, and at the end of the week, the College Board asked the virtual teachers to continue reading as the in-person group hadn’t finished. She trained on another question, gaining even more insights, so that the exam grading would be completed by the College Board’s deadline. Scores were made available on July 8. 

Students who take AP exams may place out of some college classes, and having the scores provided in a timely manner assists them with course scheduling; several colleges begin orientations and scheduling in July. 

Assistant Principal Christopher Dean said, “Over her career at DLS, Catherine has been very active in finding new methods to increase her students’  knowledge and understanding. With her acceptance from the College Board as an AP reader, this allowed her another opportunity to do just that.” 

Leix has also taught the AP Statistics course for the last three years, and is interested in being a reader for those exams. 

“For now, the College Board only allowed readers to sign up for one exam, but in the exit survey one question asked if we were interested in grading a second exam,” Leix said. She is interested –  as long as it is virtual. “I could grade as much or as little as I wanted, depending on my schedule. You can stop when you want.” 

“Ms. Leix is a consummate professional,” said Principal Brother Ken Kalinowski, FSC. "She teaches not only our top math students - teaching AP Statistics and AP Calculus AB, but also has three levels of Freshman Algebra 1. Catherine shows true care for her students and is constantly updating herself in her field. De La Salle is lucky to have her on our staff. She challenges her students to give their best each day.”

“With this experience, Catherine will be able to take what she has learned and directly apply it to not only her AP courses but share with the entire Math Department,” Dean said. “It will allow the department to continue to build the momentum of improvement they have established since the pandemic.”