Chatting with Abi
By Abigail Shlimenzon
By Abigail Shlimenzon
Advanced Placement classes are prevalent throughout school campuses in many districts across California. They are often held to high standards and are considered as an important tool to help high achieving students get ahead. They give high school students the opportunity to take college level classes and even possibly earn college credits if students pass the exam. Although in theory this sounds like the perfect opportunity, there are some promises that AP classes make that aren’t always fulfilled.
The main one being if you pass the AP test you will be able to receive those credits for college and not have to take that respective class. However, many colleges only accept scores above a four or sometimes even a five rather than the score of three that is considered as passing. This is often unfair to students who put in a lot of effort and extra work in their AP classes and expect to get the reward of getting to take one less class in college.
In addition, taking AP tests is very draining for many students as these exams last about four hours on average. However, all this extra stress can be avoided by only taking the class and not the test. Although this is an option many students are unaware or pressured into taking the test as it is considered crucial to the AP experience. Students should not feel as pressured as they are to take AP tests when taking an AP class because an AP class can be beneficial in terms of experience and just challenging oneself. This means that mental and physical drain is unnecessary and often adds pressure to students who are already academically stressed.
Teachers should not put as much pressure on students to take AP tests because they are not as helpful as many think.
The main one being if you pass the AP test you will be able to receive those credits for college and not have to take that respective class. However, many colleges only accept scores above a four or sometimes even a five rather than the score of three that is considered as passing. This is often unfair to students who put in a lot of effort and extra work in their AP classes and expect to get the reward of getting to take one less class in college.
In addition, taking AP tests is very draining for many students as these exams last about four hours on average. However, all this extra stress can be avoided by only taking the class and not the test. Although this is an option many students are unaware or pressured into taking the test as it is considered crucial to the AP experience. Students should not feel as pressured as they are to take AP tests when taking an AP class because an AP class can be beneficial in terms of experience and just challenging oneself. This means that mental and physical drain is unnecessary and often adds pressure to students who are already academically stressed.
Teachers should not put as much pressure on students to take AP tests because they are not as helpful as many think.