Upward trend continues in AP exam registrations

AP Spanish students were hard at work in the library recently. They will be among the more than 500 students taking AP tests next month.

Students enrolled in AP classes are now just one month away from the culmination of all their hard work. Registration for AP exams began Feb. 25 and closed March 17. The exams will take place from May 6 to May 17.

Five hundred and fifty-four students are registered to take a total of 1,186 exams over the course of the two weeks. These totals are up from 2012, when 507 students had registered for 1,125 exams. Registrations have shown a steady increase over the years, according to guidance secretary Bonnie Sheikh.

Despite the overall increase in registrations, U.S. History, the most popular exam, saw a drop in signups from last year.

Just 183 students signed up for the U.S. History exam, far fewer than the 221 signups in 2012. The administration sees this as a positive thing, Sheikh said.

“Hopefully the message is getting out there that you should take these classes if you really love the subject…rather than taking [the class] just because it’s an AP,” Sheik said.

The addition of the European History exam this year, which has 42 students signed up, could possibly be another factor for the decrease in AP U.S. sign-ups as well.

“It’s kind of hard to tell because Euro has seniors and juniors,” Sheikh said. “But it’s a possibility.”

In contrast to U.S. History, Chemistry has seen a sharp increase in registrants: 93 students compared to last year’s 77.

Besides U.S. History, Statistics and English Language and Composition will be the other most common exams this year, similar to 2012 when U.S. History, Calculus AB and English Language and Composition held the three highest registrations.