How to prepare for AP testing
AP Chemistry students working and studying in class (Photo: Alexa Rios, The Puma Prensa)
By Natalia Woods, staff writer
As summer rolls around the corner, students are starting to feel the stress of looming AP testing. Whether you are a first-year AP taker or a veteran, concerns have started growing for May. However, if you prepare well enough throughout the year, there’s no need to worry about your test; These are the methods I used last year to score a five on my first AP exam.
An extremely important factor to being successful in any AP test is to start preparing as early as possible. It won’t help you to wait until the last minute, whether that be the week or the day before, to try to cram all your studying. The test may seem far away in February, but if you start reviewing and studying then, you won’t have to stress about fitting everything into just a couple of weeks. Senior Danya Ali, who has taken ten AP classes throughout high school and has scored all fours and fives out of the five exams she has taken says: “The trick is to not study right before the test. If you focus during the year and do what the teacher is doing in class, then you won’t have to worry about last-minute studying.”
A great tool for practice is investing in an AP Prep Book. Some great options are those from The Princeton Review, Barron’s AP Test Prep, and CliffsNotes AP Study Guides. These all include multiple full-length practice tests, as well as a comprehensive review of all the content needed for exam day. I would recommend doing at least one full simulation of the exam, especially if this is your first time taking the test. Set aside about three hours, and go through an entire practice test in one sitting. It is important to know what you're walking into, and the more practice you’ve had, the more comfortable you will feel when it comes time in May. Many people make mistakes because the format of the test is unusual, rather than not knowing enough information from their class. If you don’t want to pay for a book, you can also visit online websites that provide similar resources—simply searching practice tests for your AP course will direct you to good practice that offers similar help. You can also review past AP exams from the College Board website to see what types of prompts and questions they asked.
Another productive method of studying is using tools that help you with normal tests for your classes. Things like timelines, flashcards, and summary sheets can all help you narrow down what you need to know. Flashcards are applicable for almost any class, whether it be science, math, or history— all classes have key terms that should be memorized for the test, and flashcards are a perfect way to do this. Often it's more important to have a few key terms and definitions nailed down than to go over every detail of content from that class. Similarly, summary sheets can be a great way to condense information, especially with content-filled classes. Making timelines can be a great way to organize information in your history classes, which can be difficult because of all the people and dates you need to know.
The last thing to focus on is allowing yourself to get enough rest before the test. When it comes to the week or night before, it’s normal to stress about not knowing everything, and you may be tempted to cram and quickly go over everything, but if you’ve been practicing and studying for the last couple of months, you most likely know everything you need to know. Prioritize getting a good amount of sleep rather than reviewing facts that you’d probably forget. Keep in mind that you took the entire class, so you already have the knowledge that you need; studying simply refreshes that information for you. Joy Schermer, an AP Chemistry teacher at Maria Carrillo, has an extraordinary average pass rate of more than 85 percent for the AP Chemistry exam, in comparison to the U.S. average of 50 percent. Schermer explains that “every unit they go a bit harder than the AP test to get more mastery,” and rather than practicing problems and questions at the end of the year, her class practices test-taking skills and “focuses on how to get familiar with the test.” There’s no need to panic in the days leading up to the test; you likely know more than you think simply from taking the class and working hard in each unit.
As long as you have taken the class and paid attention during the year, you should be well enough prepared to take the test. Studying and reviewing in the months leading up to it can help, but make sure to give yourself enough rest.