AP exam season just finished up, and the AP students now have to wait for the results. EHHS offers a variety of AP classes for students to try to earn college credits. But how do AP classes prepare students for the future, including AP exams?
AP (Advanced Placement) classes are advanced classes that students can take that will prepare them for college and some students can gain college credits for these classes. The classes are set at a higher level of learning and students that are in AP classes have to take a test at the end of the year which is scored between a 1-5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest score.
Mr. Tolla, who has been teaching AP psychology for 20 years, talks about how he is preparing his students for the AP exams. Mr. Tolla starts reviewing in his classes before spring break and finishes reviewing the class before we go on break. To prepare his students, Tolla gives the students review packets, and homework that relates to what they are learning in class, and gives the students an open note assessment to see where students need help with. Mr. Tolla states how the hardest part of preparing students for their exams is when the students don’t take it seriously and aren’t focused, “I get frustrated, I try to help them and use class time, but some students don’t take it seriously.” Mr. Tolla sets the goal of wanting his AP class to score above the national average, so around 80. If you want to go into AP Psychology, you should expect a lot of testing, and an hour of homework.
Sophomore Emma Russo, who takes AP U.S History, says how studying in class is effective and helps her use her time wisely whereas it’s harder to study by herself at home. She looks over the materials she is given as the year goes on and rewrites her notes as a way to review.
Ms. Hull, who teaches AP Statistics, talks about how her students have been preparing in class for their AP exams. AP Statistics only has 6 students and they often attend office hours with Ms. Hull to get extra help and preparation. She uses tools like flashcards, AP classroom, and practice test problems to help her students prepare. She says the hardest part of preparing her students is because there is a lot of material to review and go over. She also talks about how her classroom environment is usually students “working in groups solving open ended problems and multiple choice problems while working at the boards.” Ms. Hull’s goal is to have her students score a four or five on the exams.
Students who take AP classes have been working hard and taking advantage of the class time to prepare and review material. Teachers have been working hard making sure that they do their best to prepare their students and set them up for success. It is important that students take advantage of the study materials that their teachers provide for them so that they have the best chance of being successful.
