AP testing a substitute for second semester finals

Since the start of second semester, advanced placement classes have often been a frantic race to get everything done before May. Homework, tests and projects have all ratcheted up in intensity. In fact, one could compare the level of stress placed on AP students at this time of the year to that of finals.

From April to May, students race to finish the course material in time for AP tests as well as balance the workload for  other classes, which give work regardless of the finals students have in other classes. Is it really wise to put all this extra work on students when they’re already struggling with their regular homework and projects?

AP finals are given shortly before the AP test, usually in April.  So students must study twice as much, without the dead-week afforded to students during the June finals for regular classes.

Doesn’t that seem to be a bit overboard? Kim Anzalone, an AP U.S. History teacher, seems to agree. She won’t be administering a second semester final. After the AP test, there will be no more major tests in her class.

Why don’t more classes adopt this idea? It makes sense. The course is condensed to be finished in time for AP testing. So why not start studying for the AP test rather than the second semester final?

The final may prepare for the AP test, but does all the stress and time taken from other classes worth it?  Students shouldn’t have to cram late into school nights, and then just weeks later, spend two to three hours on the weekend in a testing center, furiously clutching a number 2 pencil.

Let’s face it: at Saratoga, the main priority of an AP class is to pass the AP test and get a leg up in college. I’d hazard a guess that 90 percent of AP students will take the AP test. So it’s not as if students are getting off easy without a second semester final.

Some might say that studying for the final is preparation for the AP test, which is true. But instead of stressing twice, students could just be given study guides and practice tests, scheduled over the weeks before the AP test. If

AP preparation is given over time, students can allot time on the weekend, as opposed to being forced to prioritize it over their homework during the week. This avoids the the night-before cramming that always seems to precede the final.

Clearly students don’t need the extra stress and studying that a second semester final brings.