AP Exams

As the end of semester approaches, deadlines, assessments, and college applications are regularly being completed by high school students at GSN. One of these important assessments is the Advanced Placement (AP) exam, which takes place every year in May.

AP Exams are standardized exams designed to measure how well a student has mastered the content and skills of a specific AP course and proven college eligibility. Most AP courses have an end-of-year paper-and-pencil exam, but a few courses have alternative assessments. For example, AP Art and Design students submit a portfolio of work to the College Board for scoring. Due to this year’s unexpected circumstances, the AP exams will be conducted differently. The AP program was created by the College Board, an American non-profit organization that was formed in 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board to expand access to higher education. It is associated with over 6,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations worldwide. Around the world, both students and teachers are thankful for the opportunity to complete the test despite the current situation. Mrs. Flansburg is an AP Language Reader, which means that she is one of hundreds of high school and college professors from around the world who score the essays each year. The Readers all meet for one week in America to score 500,000 AP Language and Composition essays covering three essays genres -- Rhetorical Analysis, Argumentation, and Synthesis. This year the essays will be scored online.

AP English Language and Composition Teacher and AP Reader, Mrs. Darcie Flansburg said she spends the first semester working on rhetorical analysis, which is what this year’s AP English Language and Composition exam is solely focused on. She said “It is the most challenging of the essay prompts and it is not something that students generally experience prior to this class. Once I learned that this would be the only free response question on this year's exam, I quickly returned to reviewing and practicing analysis of passages and timed writing with my students.” During distance learning, Mrs. Flansburg kept the students focused on the course objectives. She said, “It was challenging to get my students to interact and peer edit at times, and I was not able to give as much immediate feedback as I normally would, but the students clearly grew as readers and writers based on their essay responses.” Being an authorized AP testing center, GSN has hired and trained qualified AP teachers. This year, due to the current situation, teachers had to adapt their lessons to provide the best support to ensure student success.

GSN’s AP Coordinator Mr. David Straub said “The content that is covered [on the exams] for the course has been reduced, so there is far less content that students need to study. Moreover, usually the exams will be held in an exam center. Most students in China must go to a government run exam center to take their AP exams. Students at GSN are lucky because several years ago GSN became an AP test center, so students enrolled at GSN can take exams on campus.” Mr. Straub continued, “Our main goal right now is to prepare students for the exams and provide them with the most accurate information about the exams. Teachers are working hard to make sure that students have mastered the content for the exams and understand the exam format inside and out. College Board is taking extra measures to allow students to continue with their education. ”

AP Statistics Teacher Mr. Rafael Rawls began supplemental classes during the weekly study hall period with the students who are taking the test. He said, “It's an opportunity for them to do practice exams since it's just a 45 minute period. The next session we have after a practice is to debrief with them on how they did: what they did well, and where they can improve.” On another note, Mr. Zach Gerhard, AP Psychology Teacher comments on how his teaching method has changed, “This year I am focusing specifically on how to appropriately answer free response questions. The pace has increased, and I have made more of an effort to condense the information that we’re going over in order to provide students with better recall during the exam itself.” Even though the content for the exam has been reduced, Mr. Rawls commented that students “still feel the pressure of having their AP score rely solely on their performance during a 45-minute exam of concepts covered in 7 months.”

Mr. Elliot Moore explained that “students who are taking AP Computer Science Principle’s (CPS) no longer need to take the end-of-year test and are only required to submit two performance tasks (PT)s by May 26th. With a clear understanding of what is needed to round out this year’s AP CSP course, I have instructed my students to finish their PT: Explore by May 7th and PT: Create ready by May 22nd. All of the requirements for each PT are clearly labeled on the College Board’s website along with the same rubrics and scoring guides the AP readers use to grade each PT submitted. Having this information is crucial because students who receive a 4 or 5 by the College Board can earn college credit for the course.” AP classes offer students college-level coursework, which serves as an advantage for those that wish to continue their studies in the United States. American universities may award college credit for passing AP exams. According to Mrs. Flansburg, “students that participate in the AP program and take AP tests are statistically more likely to be successful at university where they will be accustomed to the level of rigor in courses and exams. Students taking AP courses and exams also show universities that they are willing to take challenging courses, which look favorable on college applications.” Through a series of alterations and adjustments, College Board has made it possible to allow high schoolers to complete the examinations worldwide. GSN’s AP and core subject teachers are all committed to their students’ success and academic growth. Though this demanding time may be stressful for students, AP Coordinator Mr. Straub says that “students should feel confident that the exams are designed this year for all to be successful.”