Cy Falls HS Graduate Earns Perfect Score on AP Studio Art Exam
By Quetzi Contreras, Cypress Falls HS
When Cypress Falls High School 2023 graduate Kim Nguyen opened her laptop and logged onto the College Board website to finally see her results for her advanced placement (AP) exams, she could barely believe what she saw. Nguyen earned a perfect score on every portion of her AP Studio Art Drawing Exam.
Nguyen was one of 308 AP Studio Art students to earn such an achievement while also earning the top overall score of 5. Approximately 50,000 students took the AP Studio Art Exam across the world.
“I thought I wasn’t fully awake yet,” Nguyen said. “After I confirmed I actually got a 5, I immediately went to my brother to tell him that he lost the bet of $2.”
AP Studio Art is an AP course that is led primarily by the student’s own accord. Students are tasked with building a portfolio that consists of 15 college level works. Students pick a theme to base their works on, make a plan to complete them and meet or subvert the expectations of the College Board. Students are expected to use techniques they have learned in lower-level classes, complete them at their own pace and submit them at the deadline.
“Students sharpen their skills to produce realistic works and also to use their imagination,” Bryan Reese, Cypress Falls art teacher, said. “Kim pulled from the knowledge learned in those courses along with our one-on-one discussions in AP art.”
Cypress Falls High School 2023 graduate Kim Nguyen was one of 308 students worldwide to score perfect marks on every portion of the AP Studio Art Exam. Nguyen was tasked with creating 15 original pieces as part of the exam’s portfolio requirement.Nguyen’s portfolio was titled “Superstitions.” She took inspiration from a type of art called “Ex Libris” art. She used black BIC pens for all her pieces, as well as coffee, charcoal and color pencils on certain pieces. She used different pen techniques that she learned from her previous classes such as Art 3 Drawing and Painting and Art 4 Drawing and Painting.
“Art for me is a way to relax and cool down before jumping back into difficult classes,” Nguyen said.
While at Cypress Falls, Nguyen was a high achieving academic student in addition to being an artist. She took many advanced classes, which only added more to her plate when it came to workload. She had to find limited time in her busy schedule to work on her art portfolio.
“I felt immensely relieved when I submitted my portfolio,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t have to worry anymore about pen stains on my hands and carrying around a hefty portfolio around school.”
Knowing Nguyen as he does, Reese said he wasn’t surprised she attained the perfect score.
“If any of my students were to receive this honor, it would have been Kim,” Reese said. “She was exceptionally skilled, talented and hard-working.”
Nguyen is now a student at the University of Texas at Austin studying social work. She decided to continue art as a hobby, experimenting with other mediums. She has not touched a pen since she turned in her portfolio.
Source: CFISD
