AP Tests

The Walking Dead arrived at the school for the past few days.  Preparation for this event has been leading up to this final showdown.  As the smoke clears on the battlefield there is only one left standing...  As exciting as this sounds, it was only a imaginative dream concocted during my break in AP Testing.  For those in AP courses (Chemistry, Government, Statistics, English, Calculus, and Biology are the courses offered at JBHS), the focus all year has been on these tests. AP tests create a chance to score well enough to obtain a head start in college by earning college credit in classes corresponding to the test.  Most colleges will accept a score of 3 or above (the test scale is from 1-5).  The cost is $89 which at first seems expensive, but there is no comparison to the time and money spent on the actual college course. 

From the beginning of the test period, there is a pre-administration time when students fill out all their answer sheets and ultimately get a feel for how the test is administered.  The actual test is usually a week afterwards depending on the test being taken because each test is on a different day (some are doubled up on the same day).  At James Buchanan, the test is administered in the depressing, arctic weathered, noisy torture room known by the students as the wrestling room. The AP Exams are broken into two sections: multiple choice and free response.  Both sections average about an hour and half each and by the end students feel like they just walked off the set of The Walking Dead.

I am calling it AP Syndrome, a condition of the brain when the amount of brain power is focused on a single subject reaches its breaking point and shatters, but really it is not that awful.  Go to bed the same time as you are accustomed to because any fluctuation will cause a negative reaction by the body making you tired whether got more sleep or less.  Have confidence that your best effort will be placed on the exam.  Take pride in taking the test. Finally, always remember you are taking the test, the test is not taking you.

Colby E. Sites (took three myself this year)