It’s spring, which means warm weather, sunshine, and AP test registration time. Currently, Upper St. Clair High School students taking AP classes have the opportunity to register for AP exams, which will be administered in May.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) offers college-level courses to students in high school and was initially created in 1955-56. Today, the program stretches all 50 states and to more than 120 countries, utilizes over 145,000 teachers, and influences 1.8 million students. The program has a total of 34 different courses offered.
These college-level courses provide students with the opportunity, depending on the institution, to earn credits before college. Upon receiving a qualifying score, usually a 3, 4, or 5, students are able to transfer those credits and jump ahead into their college classes. And thus, this opportunity can save more money later in tuition.
Mrs. Jennifer Kirk, USC High School guidance counselor, describes the high school’s intentions, “Our goals for the AP program are multi-tiered. One, to make sure we’re properly challenging our students to provide them with a college-type experience while they’re in high school, and then to offer them an opportunity to earn credits when they move on to school.”
In Upper St. Clair High School, AP exam registration started on Monday, February 23rd and ended Friday, March 20th. Currently, USC offers 21 AP classes. On average, more than half of the school’s students take at least one AP course. Clarifying what students take these tests, Kirk said, “AP classes are offered traditionally at the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade levels, though we do have students who opt to take AP courses as 9th graders, although it is rare.”
Students have numerous ways to study for the exams, including handwritten notes, practice tests, flashcards, and more. Many teachers recommend purchasing an AP practice book, such as Barron’s or the Princeton Review books. These books give a thorough overview of the concepts learned in the class, as well as practice tests from past AP exams.
Senior Eliza Luxbacher takes two AP courses: AP Psychology and AP English. She intends to take the AP Psychology, the AP English Language, and the AP English Literature tests this spring. She shared her studying plans: “I plan on preparing for these exams by using the AP books that you can purchase at Barnes & Noble. […] And also just reviewing all notes, worksheets, and documents that I have acquired from both courses over the course of this year.”
Another senior, Morgan Cook is taking the AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism exam, and he describes the time up until the test: “Well, we just finished up our last chapter, so we’re going to be in review for the next two months until the test. But I’m going to review by going over some of the sections that I missed and doing a bunch of AP problems from different chapters.”
Given how well teachers prepare USC students during the school year, students should feel confident about getting a passing score on their tests.