Lockport student earns a perfect score on AP exam

Sophia Marcial, a senior at Lockport Township High School, recently achieved what’s considered a rare feat: earning a perfect score on an Advanced Placement exam, according to a news release from the school.

Marcial received the top score of 5 and was one of just 77 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam, which enabled her to receive the maximum score on each portion of the exam, according to the release.

Tammy Gallagher, LTHS AP coordinator, praised Marcial’s “tremendous intellect and work ethic” in the release.

“I am also thrilled that her accomplishment shines light on the expert teaching of the LTHS World Language Department,” Gallagher said in the release.

LTHS language teachers Kathy Pratt and Andrea Quintanar supported Marcial’s progress in college-level coursework, according to the release.

Quintanar taught Marcial for Heritage Spanish and AP Spanish Literature.

“I was so impressed with Sophia’s brilliance in expressing herself in academic Spanish in the Spanish for Heritage Learners course, that I recommended that she advance to AP Spanish Language and Culture her sophomore year, a recommendation that I had never made before,” Quintanar said in the release.

Pratt was equally impressed, so Marcial was recommended for AP Spanish Literature, Quintanar said in the release.

“In this course, she not only regularly displayed her unique aptitude to connect the global and historical context to the literary works through revealing analysis, but she is also able to collaborate and communicate with her peers so that they may benefit from her insight,” Quintanar said in the release.

Nor is Marcial’s “linguistic talent” limited to Spanish and English, Quintanar said in the release.

“Ms. Marcial has been able to excel in Japanese concurrently as she continues her advanced studies in Spanish,” Quintanar said in the release.

Lockport Township High School offers 26 different AP courses.

For information, go to lths.org and ap.collegeboard.org.