For Normal West AP students, the first two weeks of May are likely to be two of the most important weeks during the course of the semester. AP students who register will be taking the AP exams, which will be administered every single day from Monday, May 5 to Friday, May 16 (excluding weekends). Morning tests begin at 8am and afternoon tests begin at 12pm.

“It’s a $93 test I probably won’t pass so I’m not exactly looking forward to taking the test by any means. Writing three essays and doing a fifty or so multiple choice question section, then having to go back to school to finish out the day near finals time is a bad deal. Even if I did happen to get a good score, some colleges that I could attend may not even accept it,” said Ash Reynolds (11).

Normal West junior Tiffany Anderson said, “I’m not particularly looking forward to the tests, but I’m going to take them because it’s cheaper to take the AP test and get credit for the class for college than it is to take the class in college. I think it’s a smart idea to offer AP classes because taking them in college would be expensive. It’s also really good college preparation because the classes are typically set up how they are expected to be in college, but there’s more opportunities to receive help if needed than there are in college.”

Jillian Garza (11) shared her concerns with the test, stating, “Part of the problem with AP tests is the preparation students get for it. Some teachers build their AP courses with the understanding that many of us will be taking the tests at the end of the year, other teachers have the test as an afterthought so it’s hard to feel prepared. I feel more prepared for some tests than others because of this teaching discrepancy.”

The AP test is scored on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being extremely qualified and 1 being no recommendation. If students miss their testing dates, make-up testing is offered May 21 through May 23.