It’s exceedingly rare for a student to earn a perfect score on an Advanced Placement exam, but a Penn Manor High School senior has done it.
Suren Clark is one of only 44 students from across the globe to achieve that feat on the AP Microeconomics test, out of about 96,000 students who took the exam in May 2023.
Suren was notified by the College Board that his performance on the two-plus hour exam “was so superior that it falls into an extremely select category.”
Less than 0.05 percent of test takers earned a perfect score.
Suren “was shocked” to learn the results, he said. “The news was unbelievable, especially after hearing that I was only one of 44 students out of 96,000 worldwide to achieve this score. I immediately texted my parents that I had good news.”
Suren credits his AP economics teacher, Chris Meier, with helping prepare him for the rigorous test, which includes 60 multiple choice questions and three free-response questions that require test-takers to explain economic concepts and principles, perform numerical analyses and create graphs or other visuals.
“Thanks to Mr. Meier, I walked into the testing center feeling confident, but not presumptuous about my readiness,” he said. “Leaving the test, overall, I felt good, but the thought of a perfect score was not in my mind whatsoever.”
“AP Microeconomics was one of my favorite classes, and Mr. Meier’s teaching style flowed very well for me, so the perfect score put an ideal close to that chapter of study.”
The honor is the latest accolade for Suren, who, along with Jordan Chen, placed third in the nation this summer in the Debating Technological Issues competition at the Technology Student Association National Conference.
He’s earned numerous other awards at Penn Manor and is a very active student. In addition to serving as class president, Suren is a member of the varsity tennis team, and participates in the Technology Student Association, Model United Nations, Mock Trial, Math National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl, MiniTHON, Robotics Club, Wharton Investing Team, National Honor Society, Science Olympiad and Civitas.
He attends most of his classes at Millersville University, where he takes dual-enrollment courses in Environmental Sustainability, Macroeconomics, Calculus 3, and International Law.
After high school, Suren plans to attend college and major in economics and mathematics with a possible minor in political science or international studies before pursuing a law degree or a Ph.D.
He is the son of Sepideh Yalda and Richard Clark of Millersville.
“Suren has consistently challenged himself with relevant and rigorous courses that relate to his career goals,” said Doug Eby, Penn Manor High School principal. “His strong work ethic and commitment to his academics have led to excellence in and out of the classroom.”
“Penn Manor is extremely proud of Suren, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact he will have on our community after he leaves high school.”
Congratulations to this outstanding student!
