The first two weeks of May are hectic for highschoolers. They want school to be over, Seniors are ready to graduate, and AP tests occur causing students to regret their scheduling decisions because they now have to study for college level exams. I used to think that AP tests were terrible but in the last two weeks of testing I have realized that I love AP testing.

    Maybe love is the wrong word. I don’t enjoy sitting through a 4 hour test and have to study a year of material, but I have discovered that I like it a lot more than a class final and the AP tests have a lot of positives.

    The main positive for AP testing is that the scores don’t have to affect college admissions. The main pressure of finals is worrying that if someone does badly on a test it will ruin their grade in that class and furthermore possibly affect their gpa and getting into a more competitive school. With AP testing, the majority of colleges don’t require for the scores to be submitted. So if you get a 1 or a 2, it doesn’t really negatively impact you. Not passing only prevents you from getting college credit for the class. The goal of AP classes is to get college credit, however some schools don’t even take the credits from AP’s especially if it isn’t a high score.

    I also love the community formed from AP testing. On social media, people will post videos and memes about the exam questions. Before the test, everyone prepares to go in together and people do last minute studying. Right after it’s done everyone talks about if it was easy or difficult. Not to mention also not having to worry about a class for the last couple days of school. A lot of AP teachers will put on movies or make that class a study hall because the exam is over. I think that is a more than fair exchange. Typically AP classes require more work, and in return after you study and complete the AP test you get to take a breather.

    Finally, parts of the exam are kind of fun. There is a part of the exam where you sticker the multiple choice together and I always enjoy that. It serves as a little break before the FRQs start. Also, for classes who may have more fun prompts, I enjoy trying to make an answer using knowledge I have used from the previous year. 

    I don’t think AP tests are all that bad and I definitely prefer them to finals. I’m excited when all of my AP tests are over, but there are many positives to taking an AP test.