AP exams could be very stressful for many students, but there are many ways that their teachers are helping them review and study to take them in the month of May, whether it is in class or assigned extra practice for them. There are also many ways that students can prepare themselves. Even with all of the stress, it is important for students to be able to feel prepared and calm on the day of the exam.
Background information:
AP exams are standardized tests that are given by the college board to assess how well students have learned the material from specific Advanced Placement courses also known as AP courses. They are given in the month of May, and they are scored on a scale from 1 to 5, scores 3 and higher count as college credit.
They were originally started in 1954, and the program itself was started by the Ford Foundation, aiming to address concerns about American students potentially falling behind their Soviet counterparts. A pilot program, including the first exams, was launched in 1952. In 1955, the College Board assumed leadership of the program.
The AP exam is given to high school students from all over the world, and over 100 countries currently recognize the exam worldwide. The main group of high-school students that take AP courses are grade 10 students and higher. There are currently 40 different AP courses that the college board offers to students. Currently at The Morgan School there are a total of 9 courses that are offered to students.
Student preparation:
Exams could be very stressful for students, especially with all of the studying and preparing that they have to do beforehand. Many students take more than one course, so the stress of having to manage their day-to-day life, while also having to study for so many exams could be very overwhelming and cause stress.
“I only take one AP cl
ass, so I only have one exam, but I am still stressed. I know many people that take more than one AP class and I can’t even imagine all the stress they are going through with exams being right around the corner and having to prepare for more than one exam,” said junior Maria Lopez.
There are many things that students are doing in order to prepare for their exam, whether it is looking over the material from the beginning of the year to now, looking in textbooks, or even just looking at the college board website and doing some of the practice tests.
Senior Geovanny Avila said, “I have been preparing for my exam by studying for at least 20 minutes every day up until the exam day so that way I will have more time to memorize all of the material that I need.”
Teachers have also been preparing students in their classes for the AP exam, during the school year they will teach all of the material that students need to be successful in the AP course as well as the exam. A couple of weeks before the exams, they will give a lot of practice work and practice exams in order to prepare students and help them pass the exam.
“My Spanish teacher has prepared me so much for this exam that I feel like I am going to do so well and have no problems passing this exam at all. We have done so many practice exams during the class, and she has gone over the material so many times that I have it all memorized,” said junior Sofia Barrientos.
There are many ways that students are able to study for their exams, whether it is reviewing notes, writing notes, or even just paying attention in the classes while teachers are going over material to refresh their memory. The main thing is to begin preparing with a good amount of time span and not leave it all for the last minute. That way they have a good amount of time to memorize information and ask questions on anything they are confused about.
Resources Online:
There are many different websites that you can use online in order to prepare for the exam, some of them being free and some of them being paid. But one of the main things that most students use in order to get the help and advice they need are You Tube videos.
Heimler’s History is a well known YouTuber that makes videos in order to help students prepare for their AP exam, whether it is giving them advice, giving them a rundown of what some of the content in the exam will look like, or even just instructing them on how to remain focused during the whole exam time span.
There are also some websites where you can do some practice work .They give students free practice tests, in order to get them practicing with the material that they will need for the exam. Khan academy is one of the most popular websites to be able to study and review material not just for AP exams but for any tests, they will give you different units to study from with videos on how to do certain material, and give you practice problems.
The AP College Board website also offers a lot of practice work for any of the courses students may need help on, and they will give you a score range based on how you do on the practice work. They will also give students a rundown of what the exam will be like that way they know exactly what to expect on exam day.
