Story By: Ali Booth Picture By: Brenden Geiselhardt
The AP and IB exams are coming up fast, and students involved in either program are likely to be stressed about the upcoming tests.
Many wonder whether they will survive the studying, earn a passing grade or even whether participating in the programs was worth their time.
Despite the stress the programs present, the benefits of participating in them far outweigh any negatives.
For IB students, the motivation to succeed on the exams is high. IB senior Carrie Koushyk says that she wants to do well on the test to “get my IB diploma so the last two years weren’t a waste.” She also strives to do well on the tests because of college; the IB exams could potentially award students with college credit.
IB requires students to learn and memorize a large amount of information over the course of their junior and senior years for the tests that take place at the end of senior year.
Koushyk’s strategy to prepare for the tests is to “make study guides because there are so many reviews and worksheets you have to combine” to do well on the exams.
Another way IB seniors prepare for the big tests is “doing practice exams in class” Koushyk continues.
For Koushyk, there are six tests taking place over a period of two weeks. The structure of the exams differs from AP because there “isn’t as much stuff to do in three or so hours, it’s more spread out. One day you might focus on the essay, and another day you might focus on the multiple choice” as opposed to AP, where the exams include essays, short response and multiple choice questions all on the same exam taken in one day.
The fact that the tests are more spread out takes some of the pressure off, as Koushyk explains that on testing days there are not “consecutive tests and you don’t have school on the days you have tests so you test for two hours then go home.”
AP students are similarly stressed. Madeline LaMee, who will be taking four AP tests is motivated to do well on them because of the potential to earn “college credit for hard work throughout the year.” However, she adds that the goal of being in AP should not just be getting credit; students should take AP to learn.
LaMee chose to take AP even though she knew it would be stressful because “it is a choice between stress now and stress later. Even though testing is difficult initially, the benefits of getting college credit and a better understanding of the material outweighs the stress.”
The AP exams are difficult because “there’s a lot of writing on the tests and they’re physically and mentally exhausting” according to LaMee. Unlike IB tests, AP exams are consolidated into a couple hours of testing in a one day session, not spread out over multiple days.
This means that AP students may have to write two or more essays and free response questions as well as numerous multiple choice questions all at the same time.
In order to combat the stress that inevitably comes from the anticipation of such a long, difficult testing process, LaMee suggests “practicing the free response and essay sections of the test throughout the year, not just at the end and reviewing the material using online study guides.”
Even though AP and IB exams are hardly a favorite among students, they are well worth the stress. The potential of earning college credit is certainly a motivating factor, but it should not be the only one. Even if you don’t get credit for college, AP and IB allows students to grow as a person and gain invaluable experience in the kind of work they may be doing in college.
Many wonder whether they will survive the studying, earn a passing grade or even whether participating in the programs was worth their time.
Despite the stress the programs present, the benefits of participating in them far outweigh any negatives.
For IB students, the motivation to succeed on the exams is high. IB senior Carrie Koushyk says that she wants to do well on the test to “get my IB diploma so the last two years weren’t a waste.” She also strives to do well on the tests because of college; the IB exams could potentially award students with college credit.
IB requires students to learn and memorize a large amount of information over the course of their junior and senior years for the tests that take place at the end of senior year.
Koushyk’s strategy to prepare for the tests is to “make study guides because there are so many reviews and worksheets you have to combine” to do well on the exams.
Another way IB seniors prepare for the big tests is “doing practice exams in class” Koushyk continues.
For Koushyk, there are six tests taking place over a period of two weeks. The structure of the exams differs from AP because there “isn’t as much stuff to do in three or so hours, it’s more spread out. One day you might focus on the essay, and another day you might focus on the multiple choice” as opposed to AP, where the exams include essays, short response and multiple choice questions all on the same exam taken in one day.
The fact that the tests are more spread out takes some of the pressure off, as Koushyk explains that on testing days there are not “consecutive tests and you don’t have school on the days you have tests so you test for two hours then go home.”
AP students are similarly stressed. Madeline LaMee, who will be taking four AP tests is motivated to do well on them because of the potential to earn “college credit for hard work throughout the year.” However, she adds that the goal of being in AP should not just be getting credit; students should take AP to learn.
LaMee chose to take AP even though she knew it would be stressful because “it is a choice between stress now and stress later. Even though testing is difficult initially, the benefits of getting college credit and a better understanding of the material outweighs the stress.”
The AP exams are difficult because “there’s a lot of writing on the tests and they’re physically and mentally exhausting” according to LaMee. Unlike IB tests, AP exams are consolidated into a couple hours of testing in a one day session, not spread out over multiple days.
This means that AP students may have to write two or more essays and free response questions as well as numerous multiple choice questions all at the same time.
In order to combat the stress that inevitably comes from the anticipation of such a long, difficult testing process, LaMee suggests “practicing the free response and essay sections of the test throughout the year, not just at the end and reviewing the material using online study guides.”
Even though AP and IB exams are hardly a favorite among students, they are well worth the stress. The potential of earning college credit is certainly a motivating factor, but it should not be the only one. Even if you don’t get credit for college, AP and IB allows students to grow as a person and gain invaluable experience in the kind of work they may be doing in college.