Some Academic Strengths

Our average class size in the sixth grade is 14.1, in the seventh and eighth grade it is 14.7, and in grades 9-12 it is 14.6.

Over a third of Baylor teachers have served on the faculty for 20 or more years.

Extra help is offered three or four times a week. Teachers coach in the classroom as well as on the athletic fields.

Teachers engage in an on-going process of professional development; faculty are learners as well as teachers.

Baylor has had 21 National Merit Semifinalists in the last two years, more than any other area school.

In addition, two current Baylor seniors, one from China and one from Korea, would have qualified as Semifinalists if they were US citizens.

The school offers innovative courses in digital design, multimedia, and programming as well as AP Computer Science.

100% of Baylor students four-year attend colleges and universities.

Baylor students routinely excel in regional and state competitions. For the last three years, Baylor has had more students place in the combined TMTA state math competition top ten categories than any other area school.

Five members of the science department (two men and three women) have PhD degrees.

Baylor is the only area school that offers five languages: Chinese, French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Baylor is the only area school that offers AP Spanish Literature.

Baylor students regularly receive honors at the annual ArtScene competition at the Hunter Museum and in band and voice competitions. Baylor’s state-of-the-art black box theater has been a training ground for students who continue their work in drama at the college level and beyond.

Advanced Placement Leadership
In 1954, Baylor led the way as the first school in the South - and only one of 38 secondary schools - invited to participate in the new Advanced Placement (AP) program. Today, Baylor offers AP college level courses in 22 subjects, providing opportunities for advanced specialized study and college credit.

Baylor offers 22 AP courses: one in Computer Science, two in English, three in Fine Arts, six in Foreign Language, three in History, three in Mathematics, and four in Sciences.

In 2000, Baylor students wrote 278 AP exams. In 2007, Baylor students wrote 491 exams. Of those 491 exams, 397 qualified students to receive college credit.

Some Baylor sophomores take AP Chemistry and AP Computer Science, some juniors take AP Calculus and many take AP English, AP Languages, and AP sciences, and seniors choose from the full slate of offerings.

At least seven Baylor teachers have served as AP readers, and in 2008 a Baylor student was named one of two Tennessee recipients of the Siemen Award for Advanced Placement for her performance on math and science AP exams as a junior.