A Look at AP Exams at High School

By Kris Soderlund, MHS senior

The end of the 2012-2013 school year is winding down. Every student is now in that “summer mindset” and can’t wait until the last day of school. But only just last week some of the some of the juniors and seniors at Medfield High School took the sometimes dreaded AP exams, keeping them from officially putting their pencils away and “checking out.”

There are a number of AP classes offered at MHS, including AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Government, and AP Literature. The AP exams give the students not only a chance to present their abilities in their respected AP class or classes, but also to potentially earn college credits if they score a certain grade (usually a 4 or 5).

Over a two-week time period, students take their AP exams. Each AP exam is scheduled on a different day, giving the students the ability to take more than one if desired.

During the month of May, some students taking AP exams have a jam-packed schedule. Between end-of-the-year homework, projects, and other various final grades teachers try to get on the last report card before summer, some students partake in spring sports, which can sometimes carry into the early summer months. Also, May 1 is the final decision day for many colleges. And then, of course, students need to study for the exams, which just adds to the “to do” list.

About a week or two prior to the exams, the students have finished the required curriculum for their AP classes and teachers begin helping the students review. In my personal experience, teachers have gone over important topics from each chapter we studied throughout the year. We completed worksheets and old AP exams for additional practice. The teachers were extremely supportive in giving extra help after school and answering any questions we might have had.

Senior Brenna Dorgan took eight different AP exams in May. From her experience, she has a few pieces of advice for the juniors and seniors taking AP classes and exams next year. She said, “My advice would be if you put in the effort all year it will pay off by the time the AP exams come around. As for time management, being a swimmer and still balancing eight APs was challenging, but if you don't procrastinate then life is so much easier! Honestly, when AP exams come around, just take deep breaths and relax since you can be confident that the work you have done all year will pay off.”

This time of year there is a lot on students’ plates. Once the AP exams are complete, relief and relaxation fills the halls.

This article was written by Kris Soderlund, a Medfield High School student and member of the student newspaper, The Kingsbury Chronicle. The piece is part of Medfield Patch's weekly series, "Warrior Weekly," helping provide information about MHS to the local community.