Tessa Lomoro '26
Most people can say that AP tests are the worst part of a high schooler’s academic year, but are some worth the hype? Would you consider your AP Calculus test an ordinary, simple test or one of the most complicated math tests of your life? Or AP US? Did you feel well-prepared or completely lost?
As a freshman, I’ve never taken AP tests before, but as an incoming sophomore (planning to take an AP course next year), I can firmly say that I’m nervous about the outcome. This is one of the reasons I am creating this article: to help other anxious classmates like me to understand more experienced sophomores, juniors, or seniors and their thoughts about the AP tests they took this year.
As students, we hear different perspectives on other’s thoughts of an AP course. “Don’t take it!”, they said or, “It was the best class I’ve taken.”, they said. These different ideas make it hard for us to judge if this is the right choice.
An example of this are the results for the AP World History exam. Twelve students responded to this, where 50% rated a 3, 25% rated a 2, 8.3% rated a 5, 8.3% rated a 4, and 8.3% rated a 1. This proves that everyone’s idea of the test was different, although the majority thought it wasn’t entirely less or most challenging.
Another concern with taking certain AP classes and tests is whether your future college will accept and transfer your results during college. While some colleges will only accept a 5 on an AP test, others welcome a 3, 4, or 5. Ten students taking AP Biology showed that 60% rated a 5 and 40% rated a 4. This could change the idea of students who have interest in joining AP Biology, but aren’t sure if it would be the right fit for them at the right time.
Ms. Iannucci had some great advice for this debate. She explained, “AP Bio is one of the hardest. College Board might pick the hardest material, so you’ll do better in the Bio college class.” She added: “The college will decide whether they take the college credits or not. The college might accept certain AP classes over the other, depending on your major.”
While AP Biology showed difficult outcomes, 3 students in AP Seminar voted that 66.7% rated a 1 and 33.3% rated a 2. Ms. Iannucci responded: “The test was different. Not content driven, process driven. The AP Seminar Test included two in-class papers (six and then ten pages long), then presentations. It was not an objective test, but they practiced and worked the entire year.”
While making decisions for your next AP class might be difficult, I hope this article comforted any lingering doubts. I have faith that you will all make the best decisions for classes next year and work hard for great grades on each AP test.
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