I sat anxiously in my seat on a Monday morning in late April while AP European History teacher Jerry Sheehy handed back the practice Document Based Question (DBQ) we had taken the week before. As soon as I received my paper, my eyes bulged and I started hysterically laughing. On the bottom of the page in fat red marker was my score: 0/60.
The laughter soon evaporated into shock as I realized how unprepared I had been for the DBQ. After reading the comments and feedback on my paper, it was clear that I had not actually addressed the prompt. I began to wonder: Why was the first AP practice test we were taking so late in the year? I clearly had a bit to learn before the actual test.
It made me think that AP teachers should administer more AP practice tests and integrate more AP style practice problems into their courses prior to the real tests. This will help students perform better while also alleviating their last-minute cramming stress.
While it’s impossible to administer full-length practice tests early in the year because all of the content that has yet to be covered, teachers can incorporate AP practice problems into the class curriculum starting in the fall.
For example, AP Calculus AB teacher Jennifer Mantle often assigns old AP exam questions as class openers. In this way, she is able to familiarize students with questions they will see on the actual AP test.
Like me, many students taking AP classes often feel lost when preparing for their AP tests because there isn’t enough practice offered early enough to effectively prepare them. Students often end up falling into a dire last-minute scramble while trying to self-administer practice tests through Princeton Review or Barron’s books at home.
Although most AP material is covered in class, some aspects aren’t. Doing practice questions and tests in class allows students to get used to the time constraint and format of the AP test. From there, they can find out what specific sections they need to focus on in order to excel on the actual test. That way, students can spend the last couple weeks prior to the AP test fine-tuning what they already know instead of desperately cramming in new information.
Ultimately, my score on the in-class DBQ was a wake-up call. It made me realize that I would have preferred periodic AP practice tests throughout the year to develop my skills instead of the shock I received just a couple of weeks before the AP test. With the real AP test over now, I’ll just have to wait and hope for a better score on the actual DBQ.
