With testing over, AP classes look to fill the remaining school days

June 3, 2011 — by Megan Benzing

Junior Viraj Parmar took five AP exams during the AP testing weeks. Parmar felt they were brutal, being hours long and spanning two weeks. He felt additional stress from SAT Subject Tests and STAR testing during those weeks. But now that they are over, Parmar feels much more relaxed.

Junior Viraj Parmar took five AP exams during the AP testing weeks. Parmar felt they were brutal, being hours long and spanning two weeks. He felt additional stress from SAT Subject Tests and STAR testing during those weeks. But now that they are over, Parmar feels much more relaxed.

“It’s nice to know that most of my classes will be more laid back from now on,” Parmar said.

As AP Testing weeks drew to a close, students wondered what lay ahead for them in their AP classes now that there were no more tests to prepare for. Because classes do not actually end until June 15, students must still go to class ready to participate.

The majority of AP classes are taking a more laid-back turn. The homework loads are lighter, and the courses are less vigorous.

Kathy Nakamatsu’s AP Chem classes took their test on May 1. There still had a final to prepare for as students in those classes voted to have their final after the AP exam rather than before. According to Nakamatsu, only about one more week’s worth of information will be taught.

“There will be no more tests after the final,” Nakamatsu said. “The students will be doing multi-day labs. We also have the much anticipated Super Quiz Tournament!”

Super Quiz is this game where Nakamatsu will give hints about 20 specific words, and the team with the most correct words at the end wins.

Other classes have final projects to tie the entire course together.

Cathy Head’s AP Lit classes took their AP exam on May 5. According to Head, her students have been working on a book group project that brings together everything they know about analysis and entertainment. These presentations begin after all AP tests are over. On non-presentation days, students will be reading minority lit books, most of which is in their anthology, meaning poems or short stories, not books.

There are some classes that will stiProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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cover new material, but it may not correlate to the original course.

AP Calculus AB taught by Michele Drouin took their exam on May 4. Beginning the week of May 16, the classes covered a unit on finance.

“Students should be expecting a different class for the remaining weeks of school,” Drouin said. “There will be a final at the end of finance unit, but there is no final because the calculus final was given before the AP exam.”

There are a lot of AP courses that follow their AP exams with new units, similar to Drouin’s class.

AP US History is taught by Matthew Torrens and that exam was administered on May 6. His classes will have no final, and will spend the remaining weeks learning about Saratoga and other local history.

“We will be learning new material,” Torrens said. “But it is the most exciting material all year!”

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