They say April showers bring May flowers, but it should be April showers bring May AP exams. Throughout the first two weeks of May, students have the option to take an exam that can help them gain credits towards college. Exams range from AP Statistics to AP Japanese Language and Culture, and cover every subject in between.
The past few weeks teachers have been trying to prepare students for these AP exams. Most of the preparation begins near the end of the month of April and involves reviewing all the past units leading up to the exam. “For Human Geography, Ms. Pollin has been reviewing information from the first week of school. This is really helpful because I forgot that these topics were still part of the course,” senior Ben Klayman said.
Other teachers choose the path of doing several tests to recreate the setting of the AP. “My belief that I stand by every year is that the more questions you practice, the better you will do. I try to mimic the exam through practicing FRQ questions and taking diagnostic tests,” social studies teacher Chris McTamany said.
He teaches three AP classes: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics and Government.
For classes like AP Chemistry and AP Biology, teachers recommend that students prep for the exam in a college setting. With the help of the University of Shady Grove, students of all ages can be provided a quiet space and a white board to help them study. “I spent so much of my time at USG studying for AP Chemistry. So many Wootton students go there and we are able to work together in a college room,” senior Saniya Masood said.
The use of Barron’s or 5 Steps to get a 5 books is a key factor that teachers offer to students. Most of these helpful books can be found at Barnes and Nobles and usually cost about $20. “I have checked the past few years to make sure that the Barron’s book is still accurate and to this day, all the information is still relevant and many students have said that these books really help them study,” AP Psychology teacher Jennifer Bauer said.
For exams like AP English Language and English Literature, teachers prepare students for the exam the whole year. With the weekly in-class essays and considerable number of multiple choice practice throughout the year, students who take these classes are always ready to take the exam. “Because there is no real helpful book to use for the AP Language exam, most of my studying came from in the classroom. The teachers taught all the essays and we’ve practiced them so many times, so taking the exam should be really easy,” junior Sara Cohn said.
Whether you’re cramming all your studying into one night at USG or you have been studying the whole year, your teachers will always try to help you get that five as best they can. “We give everything a student needs in the class time. It’s their responsibility to use it wisely to help them do well,” McTamany said.
Haley Zmuda
Staff Writer
