By Catelyn DiLeva
Staff Writer
Depending on the teacher, students in Advanced Placement classes may or may not be required to take a final. Teachers who teach AP classes should give their finals before AP tests to help students prepare better for the exams, as well as to allow students to focus on their other classes at the end of the year.
Students across the nation take part in AP exams, tests that cover all of the material learned in a respective AP course, according to the College Board, a non-profit organization that helps prepare students for college. In addition to these national exams, many Costa teachers still require students to take a cumulative final as well, AP European History teacher Annie Choi said.
According to the Costa website, the school designates a week for finals during the last week of school in June. Although a majority of the school will be taking its final exams during this time period, it is still more beneficial for AP students to take the finals before their AP exams in order to be as best prepared for the exam as possible.
Administering the final before the AP exam is largely beneficial because, while studying for the final before the national exam, students will be simultaneously receiving extra practice for the AP test, Choi said. Therefore, it is more logical to give the final before the AP test because it can provide a much-needed cumulative review for students.
In addition, the pre-AP test finals create a more easy-to-manage schedule for students at the end of the school year in that there are fewer classes to worry about, depending on the number of AP classes a student takes, said AP Psychology teacher Timothy Piper. Students have endured these college-level courses for nearly a year, so they deserve this break and a lighter schedule at the end of the year.
In addition, without the pressure of cramming information for an exam, there is significantly more time for in-depth projects, Piper said. Projects like these are beneficial as they allow for an in-depth exploration of topics of interest to students that isn’t available before the AP exam.
In the AP European History classes, the final project would allow for students who have borderline grades to make up points, said Choi. As a result, not having a final in June and being able to focus on this final project is of the utmost importance in order to maximize the grade.
While having the final after the AP exam gives students and teachers more time to get prepared and organized, giving a final before the AP exam ensures optimal preparedness.
All finals should be before AP testing as they can be used as a concrete review tool.
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