APs worth it?

by Sara Mascitelli Staff Writer

AP exams should not determine whether a student gets into college or if they have mastered a subject.

As AP season has finally come to an end, it should feel like a weight lifted off of your shoulders, right?

For some? Maybe. But for others? Maybe not.

Sophomores and upperclassmen may have taken their exams, but the waiting begins for the grades.

Let’s get one thing straight: taking an AP course is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment, and dedication to be able to get the best score possible. Yes, it may boost your GPA, but is it really worth all of the stress, anxiety, and time?

As a person with first-hand experience in that department, I can say the answer depends on what type of student you truly are. Your approach to school and to your classes can really make a difference in whether taking an AP course is right for you.

The amount of work that each AP course requires is more than one may think. It’s not like the teachers give you free grades for being in a harder class, and the workload and pacing is much faster than a Regents-level class. College won’t be that way, so it shouldn’t be like that here, and learning at any level is so much more than just a grade.

AP courses may give you college credit, but does that one score determine whether or not you have mastered the subject? According to the College Board’s website, the mean score for the 2022 AP exams was 2.92, which falls below the grade of 3 one would need to get college credit. (Let alone the schools that don’t accept anything but a 4.)

That’s not how school should work. What if you were having an off day on the day of the test or you were in a fight with your parents before you got to school? These things can happen; I have seen them happen.

Think about it. The day of the test comes, and your mind is in another world. You have just lost all brain cells to be able to ace this test, and you lack confidence. You walk out of the test feeling miserable, and you don’t know what to do with yourself. Then July comes, the day everyone dreads. AP scores have just come out and you go to check on the College Board website. You see the score, and you’re sick to your stomach: you failed. Thoughts racing through your mind: What kind of a student am I? Where did I go wrong? How could this have happened?

As bad as this might make you feel, the test should not dictate whether or not you learned that year. The test doesn’t know how

Editorial (see WORTH on page 11)