The entire month of May is purgatory. For some people, the lovely weather and beautiful scenery make the month the showcase of the season. For me, and for many other students like me, the month is quite possibly the worst, for May is the month of AP tests.
For those without the dubious honor of having taken these classes, a little explanation might be required. AP stands for Advanced Placement; AP classes are college-level classes taught in high school. Depending upon test scores, they can be used as units in a college or university. The classes, which teach primarily to a (very hard) test, are coordinated by the College Board, which also makes up the SAT test. In other words, College Board is the heinous collection of people who make May such an awful month.
It really shouldn’t be that bad to have to take these tests. This is what we have been working for all year, after all. These tests have dictated our lives for the whole school year; they are the entire point of an AP class. But somehow, no amount of preparing can ever make me happy to be sitting down to a minimum of three hours of testing.
So May just crept up on me, like a vengeful zombie, bringing with it three AP tests, senior project deadlines and an ultimatum from colleges for the final decision.
In the end, I resent the entire month. I even end up resenting the weather; after all, why should it be so lovely out if I have to be inside studying.
There is nothing quite so tiring as an AP test.
Even tests that I actually kind of enjoy are ridiculously draining. Multiple choice sounds quite relaxing, but it must be pointed out that even when the answers are there, the questions aren’t very easy. When a series of essay questions directly follow, it’s no wonder that thinking doesn’t really feel like an option afterwards.
I really should have remembered all this. After all, I’ve had AP tests before. I’ve gone through all the rigmarole of bubbling, writing, swearing secrecy and even just swearing. But I guess it’s a bit like giving birth; in order to allow a mother to actually want to have more children, a little forgetting is necessary.
And, after all, AP classes are probably the best things to ever happen to me. I wouldn’t know that fact about mothers and babies if I hadn’t taken AP Biology last year. And I wouldn’t have the ability to write three decent, if short, essays in two hours.
Besides the specific knowledge that I’ve learned in these classes, I picked up handy tricks for the rest of my schooling, including how to actually study, the theory behind time management and how good it feels to finally have something be over.
Because now, it is all over. There will be no more AP tests; no more hours spent regurgitating everything I have learned this entire year.
And now, I’m surprised at how much I miss it. Not the huge amount of time spent taking the test, or studying for it, or paying for it, but the huge amount that I have learned because of it. The fact that I can learn things now that many people don’t get to learn until college is a huge gift, and, even though my brain feels like it has been packed on ice, it’s one that I’ve learned to enjoy.
The truly amazing thing is that this is all in the public education system. Whenever I hear people decrying public education, I wish they could be there in our testing room. I wish that they could stand over our shoulders, read the utterly incomprehensible test questions and then watch us answer them. They should feel the energy in that room, the culmination of hard work by both teachers and students before complaining about our education system. I wish they would recognize our hard work instead of focusing solely upon the students who fail.
I also wish, of course, that someone else could have taken that chemistry test for me, but sometimes wishes just aren’t meant to come true.
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