UHS Students Have Mixed Feelings About AP Exams

If you’re a student that is enrolled in one of Urbana High School’s Advance Placement classes, then you might have recently taken part in the most widely accepted AP Exam that would ultimately build your confidence to succeed in rigorous courses in college.
AP classes provide students with an opportunity for learning that goes beyond just the facts and figures. The classroom discussions and the demanding assignments typical of AP courses are not just put into wasteful uselessness, but students will be able to develop the content mastery thinking skills expected of college students. Students will also gain confidence to tackle the academic challenges that are expected in college. Not only will they gain confidence but also credit. AP credits give students a chance to move into upper-level courses in the field of their interest.
Week One of AP Exams started on May 2-May 6. Week Two started on May 9-May 13. Each day, there are different time slots that are corresponded to whatever AP Exam students chose and paid (students have to pay $87 for each exam) to take.
Many UHS students took advantage of the opportunity to test their AP skills that they have mastered throughout the school year by taking the AP Exams. After taking the exams, a mixture of feelings surrounded UHS students. However, a majority of the students thought that their all-year AP course properly prepared them for the exams.
“Overall, I think the material was well-organized and challenging enough to accurately evaluate how well a student learned the material,” said Senior Myisha Howard who took the Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, and Calculus BC AP Exams. She said that to prepare for the exam, she simply studied by looking over past notes, taking practice tests and mini quizzes.
Senior Laura Orozco, who took the AP U.S. History AP Exam, also thought that it went well for her. “Although the class was a lot of work, I felt very well prepared for both the multiple choice and essays in the exam,” said Orozco. “I feel I did better than I had expected, but that was mainly because the essay topics were about things that I felt I knew a lot about.”
Orozco’s strategy to do well on the exam, she claimed, was that she read over outlines on subjects that she didn’t feel so confident about, and she also reviewed lots of ID’s two weeks before the exam to make sure she was well prepared.
Both Howard and Orozco thought that their performance met their expectations. “Out of the three (AP Exams), I feel that my performance met my expectations on two of them,” said Howard.
For students who will take AP exams in the future, Howard gives out a piece of advice. “To future students I would say practice makes perfect so go to the College Board website and take practice exams in addition to your studying.”
While Howard encourages students to do early practices on the course, Orozco also gives out some advice; don’t procrastinate. “I would advise them to work hard the whole year, not just right before the test, because it really pays off on exam day,” said Orozco.
With qualifying AP Exam scores, students can earn credit, advanced placement or both at the majority of colleges and universities in the U.S. “Taking an AP Exam in high school can potentially save you so much money when you enter college. Money that, as a college student, you could most definitely use,” said Howard.
However, there are also the downfalls on taking these kinds of exams. “The disadvantages are the stress that comes with taking an AP Test and it does cost a lot but, like I said, you can save a lot more money later on,” said Howard.
Orozco also said that a disadvantage would be that each test is a bit costly. “I you don’t get a good enough score, then universities probably won’t give you credit for having taken the test.”
Overall, taking AP Exams will always be rewarding for people who have experienced it. Although it might have its own downfalls, the exposure and the training AP courses apply to high school students will be something that will be carried all through the future college life of high school students.
The AP Exam will more likely discipline high school students to somehow adapt on how the classes will be like in college and will make them more eligible to adjust smoothly in dealing with Advance Placement classes in future purposes.