Written By: Thatiana Smith, Staff Writer
TEST: Some students love them and some students think that it’s the vain of their existence.
Every school year, some students cannot wait for it to end. Ten long months have passed and the school year is out, but before students can celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer, they need to do some tests. For AP students, many believe these tests can make or break their future.
According to the article titled Why Was the AP Program Created? A History of AP Exams and Classes written by Genevieve Carlton, Ph.D. on the website bestcolleges.com, “the Advanced Placement (AP) program dates back to the 1950s.” For seventy years, students have been put under pressure to perform their best on a test that sometimes does not affect their class grade. In the same article it states, “amid fears that American students lagged behind their Soviet counterparts, the AP program was created to give U.S. high schoolers a leg up.”
Photo from thejournalrewired.com
The AP exam was created to give students in the United States a head start on their higher education. Fast forward a couple to“1997, around half of public high schools in the U.S. offered AP courses. By 2017, 70% of high schools offered the classes.” Carlton closes off the article with the fact that AP exams and AP classes were made for high performing and achieving students.
Are those high performing and achieving students ready for their AP test? According to the College Board, “1,178,256 U.S. public high school graduates in the class of 2021 (34.9%) took at least 1 AP Exam.” Now that students are back and fully integrated into the schedule of normal school, more students are ready and prepared for their AP exams. Riverside Poly High School student, Sydney Reed (11), states that she is “a little nervous for the AP test, but thanks to classwork and outside prep [she’s] been doing, [she] feels more confident in [her] test taking skills than [she] did at the beginning of the year.”
Reed’s confidence in her test taking skills is something that other students exhibit. Another Poly student, Ryan Hemmerling (12), states that he is “not nervous for the AP test in the slightest.” Some students do not exhibit the confidence that Reed and Hemmerling have. It is okay to feel nervous and scared for tests in general. Poly High School student, Abigale Maddox (12), states that she is “nervous for the AP test this year because [she is] prone to failing.” AP students are on both sides of the spectrum. Some are confident in their abilities while others are scared and nervous.
AP students have histories of failing and passing AP tests. No one is alone in these situations. Some years you’ll pass and some years you’ll fail. Failing and passing is all a part of the high school experience. So, during the AP test season do not be afraid to feel scared or confident of your abilities. Do not be afraid to have fun and last but not least, good luck!