On Monday, May 7, AP exams began for students at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. The exams take place over two weeks, with different subject matter tests each day. Seniors, juniors, and some sophomores have been working hard all year in various AP classes in order to do ensure success on their respective exams.
These Advanced Placement classes simulate the type of learning done at the college level, culminating in a test in May to see how much information the student has retained. Depending on the score, students can receive college credit for their AP classes.
In anticipation of the exams, most AP classes have dedicated much time to review in class, spending the past several weeks or months preparing. This may include taking practice exams, reviewing testing strategies, study sessions, essay writing, and much more. However, the type of preparation does vary from class to class, depending on the subject and the teacher.
“In most classes we’ve been doing test reviews,” junior Julia Poeschl said. “And in english we’ve been writing practice essays.”
Many students have felt a lot of pressure leading up to the exam dates. As a result, many people have been very stressed and nervous. However, while test stress is completely common and understandable, what’s most important is that the students have a strategy or some tactics to deal with the stress.
“I’ve been very stressed, so I’ve been trying to study a little bit each day,” Poeschl said. “That way I won’t load it on the day before the test, and can just stay confident that I can review”
However, because students have been preparing for the exam in class since the beginning of the year, they are more likely to feel confident going in to take it. Hopefully this will relieve some of the nerves, while still allowing them to get a good score. Many students taking the exams will end up finding it a lot less daunting than expected.
“We’ve taken the Chemistry exam and I [did not] feel prepared for that but, when I wound up taking it, it went well,” junior Grace Ahlin said. “For english, I think that since we’ve done practice essays since the beginning of the year I’m feeling pretty prepared.”
We wish the students taking the exam the best of luck, and don’t forget that you’ve been studying all year for this. You got this!