AP Tests on the Horizon: How CVCHS Students are Preparing for Success

As many people know, May is the month of AP testing for many students. This month can bring a lot of stress to students who are taking these classes. 

AP classes prepare high school students for college-level courses and earn them college credits if they pass the exam. These college credits could make up for a semester or even an entire class in college. The AP exams are scored on a scale from 1 to 5, where 3 to 5 is a passing score on the exam. The difficulty of each exam varies depending on the subject and material. 

Clayton Valley offers 19 AP classes, including AP United States History, AP Chemistry, AP World History, and AP Computer Science, to name a few. Taking any of these classes helps students stand out on college applications, get college credits, and prepare for college. 

The exams will take place at Centre Concord. In previous years, the AP exam was taken on paper, but this is the first year that some exams will be administered digitally on Bluebook. Some exams will be taken fully digitally, some will be both digital and on paper, and some fully on paper. The full list can be found here.

When taking the exam, there are certain things prohibited (The full list can be found here), such as cheating, accessing cheat sheets or your phone, using AI, and sharing AP content. The College Board takes these exams very seriously. When you violate any of the rules listed above, they could cancel your score or ban you from taking any future exams altogether.

The AP exam format varies depending on the class. When it comes to a few of the AP History classes offered at Clayton Valley, such as AP World History, AP United States History, and AP Art History, the exam will consist of a multiple choice section, SAQ (short answer questions), a DBQ (document based question), and a LEQ (long essay question), all of which are digital. 

The AP World exam is the same as the AP United States exam, just with different material. This year, the AP World History exam will be held on May 8. Daniel Parker, who teaches AP World History at Clayton Valley, advises students to study throughout the entire year rather than starting the month before the actual exam. Studying tools include flashcards, YouTube videos, and looking through notes.

This AP class helps students develop historical content knowledge skills, writing speed, organization, and memory recall. It can also help students in their future careers in social sciences such as law, teaching, archaeology, and anthropology. In short, this class can prepare students for social science careers and degrees.

Parker, who took this class as a student, shared a funny story about his AP experience. 

“I usually don’t tell people this until after everyone takes the AP exam for the year, but we had this legendary teacher at our school that was known for having close to a 100% pass rate for students who took their exam,” Parker said. “So I was about his worst student, definitely didn’t pass the exam and probably didn’t even deserve to pass the class.  I’m not superstitious, but I’m pretty sure that cursed me to eventually have to teach the class myself.”

The AP U.S. History exam is on May 9 at 8 am. Jason Jue, the AP United States history teacher, advises students to start studying for the exam after spring break, using flashcards and practice exams. He also advises students to understand the rubric in order to score the most points. 

This class helps with the same skills previously mentioned in the AP World section, and this class also furthers students’ ability to critically analyze historical documents.

Jue was asked about his own experience with history as a student.

 “I did not take APUSH in high school,” Jue said. “To be honest, I didn't really enjoy history until I got to college and began to see the value in understanding the past as a means of maximizing the present and preparing for the future. I wish I had more of an interest in history when I was in high school.” 

Overall, AP classes are a good opportunity for students to get an example of what to expect when taking college classes. These classes also help students get college credits if they pass their exams. These classes are beneficial to students' skills, such as time management, organization, and critical thinking skills.