The ABC's of the AP Exams

This year, Advanced Placement exams run the first two weeks of May, May 1st- 5th and May 8th-12th. Often, this testing period is dreaded, due to the stressful nature of these exams. Though, there is good news- as of today, May 5th, the first week of AP Exams has officially ended. If you’ve completed one, or multiple of the 33 offered exams this week, bravo!

While the relief may have set in for many, still, a multitude of students haven’t started their exams. As of now, most of these students are feeling nervous and are hastily reviewing for their exams. Others are going with the flow.

Students such as Sophomore Michaela Martin feel the same. “I’m nervous, especially since [Mrs. Zehr] has been gone for a month,” stated Martin.

While there may not be a technique to help curb these feelings, there are countless ways to prepare for AP Exams.

Before approaching an exam, you be aware that an AP exam only determines credit, not acceptance. A low score on an AP Exam won’t crush your dreams and your ability to get into your preferred college or university- you have the option of whether you want to send a college your scores. Just taking the AP Exam is a selling point.

If you consider these scores, and what a college requires, important; the College Board has an archive of college AP requirements. The archive includes what exams, and scores, colleges offer credit for.

Though, just because an AP score doesn’t have a large impact, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Getting a good score on an AP Exams allows you to potentially get “free” college credits, skip freshmen courses and graduate early. These classes and exams allow you to learn how to handle tough materials and deadlines.

The bad news is that these benefits have to be earned by getting a passing score. The College Board determined that out of the one-five scale, a three is passing. Remember, AP scores are scaled scores. This means that your raw score on a certain section will be calculated with its weight, giving a composite score.

The College Board makes sure that each year the scores are the same. What would have got you a five last year will get you a five this year.

To earn a passing score, one needs to work hard. This includes doing preparation throughout the year by doing the class work, homework, and taking the tests. It also includes doing a stupid amount of review in the coming months before the exam. Though, the time to prepare is over. It is time to do the cramming.

There are numerous ways to study for an exam, though doing it efficiently and in a way that is effective is a whole different story.

Investing in a study guide for your exam, like The Princeton Review or Barrons, is a smart choice. Most study guides come with practice tests, material reviews, and exam tips.

Studying in manageable chunks is important. Reviewing all of the material at once is stressful and the brain isn’t able to retain all of the information. In addition, take breaks and allow your brain to process the information and allow the hippocampus to make it a memory.

Taking practice tests and a dry run will also help you. These can expose you to the material and question patterns as well as help with time management and build the mental stamina.

Don’t waste time on material you know, review what you struggle with.

Even while you are in the exam, there are ways to improve your scores.

First, preview the content. Get a feel for what the test covers as well as any reading passages. Scan for words or events that are familiar. This will also help with time management.

Be sure to answer all of the multiple choice questions, even if you don’t know. There is no penalty for incorrect answers. When in doubt, pick C.

Beginning with, and answering, the questions you know (the easiest questions are usually at the beginning of the test), come back to the more difficult ones later. Try to think of answers or context before looking at the choices, this helps improve your accuracy.

It is also important to eat a well-balanced, breakfast the day of the exam. In addition, stay positive. Anything is possible!

If you are a perfectionist, and can’t accept anything less than a five, aim for 100% accuracy. This is the only for-sure way to score a five.

Overall, take these exams seriously and do everything that you can to be prepared. Also, remember that this exam isn’t everything, so don’t stress too much. As Dr. Spock said, “Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do.”