Central High School students turned in the school’s best performance ever on AP tests this year, a statistic made even more impressive by a record number of test-takers.

Of 378 tests taken, 96.5% received a passing score of 3 or better. While those percentages have for many years registered in the 90s, this is the first time it has exceeded 95%.

What’s more, the number of test-takers this spring reached an all-time high of 192. In recent years, that number has fluctuated between 150 and 160. Last year, it was 153.

Principal Mike Daher offered no explanation for the 25.5% spike in students taking the exams but said he was “extremely proud” of them.

“The fact that we had an increase of over 100 tests taken with our scores continuing to improve is a true indicator of the high achievement by our students along with outstanding instruction by our teaching staff,” Daher said.

Because of the rigor of AP coursework, test performance is considered a good barometer of a high school’s quality. Most colleges and universities award credit for passing grades on AP tests.

CHS offers 25 AP courses, ranging from Microeconomics and European History to Music Theory and Electromagnetism. Heavily tilted toward math and science, the course offerings are one of the most extensive in New Jersey for a district of Hopewell Valley’s size.

The most popular courses are Statistics, U.S. History and Calculus AB, each of which enrolled 40 or more students last year. The most tests – 45 – were taken in Statistics.