Advanced Placement, or AP, is a system set up by College Board for giving college credit to students enrolled only in high school. Students study a college level curriculum determined by College Board and take a test at the end of the year with written response and multiple choice sections. If a student makes a 3 or above, they are considered to know enough to pass a college level course on the same subject. A higher score of 4 or 5 makes it more likely for colleges to award credit.

To some, the AP tests are merely a chance to gain college credit–to others, they are the make or break it moment determining the if a year of blood, sweat, and essays were worth it. To me, they were somewhere in the middle.

Well, my AP Biology test was certainly somewhere in the middle. Biology is one of the subjects I’ve always excelled at and always enjoyed. For a long time I wanted to become a molecular biologist, and AP Biology  was the perfect course for me. I almost looked forward to the AP test, and reviewing for it was the most fun I had during exams.

AP Physics was a very different story. I chose physics as my other science for the year, and despite my difficulties with the subject, I enjoyed the class. Mr. Funderburk was always funny, and the labs were interesting. I came out with a “B” after a year of struggling, thanks to Mr. Funderburk and an unknown number of students tutoring me. The AP Test, however, was not something that I even remotely looked forward to.

My junior year, AP testing was mandatory for every AP class a student was enrolled in. The ever generous MSMS Foundation covered the $92 test fee, but that still left a majority of the school taking at least one test they did not want or need to prepare for. Why did this system exist?

Mrs. Brown, the Director of Academic Affairs, helped me find answers. When asked why tests were mandatory last year, Mrs. Brown said, “I think that’s pretty standard procedure in most schools… If you take the AP course, you have to take the test. That holds teachers accountable for teaching on the AP syllabus. It give me as an administrator good feedback on our teachers.”

However, last year many students felt that the mandatory testing practice was instituted because of the Newsweek and Daily Beast’s “America’s Top High Schools” ranking. Last year MSMS placed 63rd in the nation, and AP testing is part of their methodology. However, Mrs. Brown says that this was not the case at all. While AP testing was part of the criteria for the rankings, it was not why she advocated for AP testing at all. She says she advocated for it because it helps her make, “data driven decisions.”

Dr. Heath Stevens, who has served this school as both a counselor and as an AP Psychology teacher, has an interesting perspective. When asked about what feedback he received from students about the testing, Dr. Stevens said, “The most resounding thought I heard was a bit of confusion about why things were the way they were regarding the policy. AP Psychology students didn’t complain so much, but many others felt the school was just using them for their test scores.”

As a teacher, however, Dr. Stevens says he did not pay much mind to the scores. “I don’t think I let it take focus away during the class-time for AP Psychology.  I had infused the format of the AP exam into my course exams, and I offered a plethora of study resources.

“I personally think the exam should be a measure of what one learned in the course, so most of the extra practice exams I gave were optional or not during the regular class time.  In short, I focused on learning the material (based on the guidelines of the AP curriculum), but I did not ‘teach to the test’ per se,” he explained.

So what is the future of AP Testing policies at MSMS? In short, no one quite knows. Brown said, “We are in the process of making that decision. The options are that all students in every course will take ap exams like last year. Another option is that we will limit students to a number of tests. For instance, we would only pay for three, and they could take more if they paid for it.

“We are getting feedback from different places … from students, from teachers, from the foundation. I don’t want students to feel like they have to take an AP exam for something they’re not prepared for, and if you’re not passionate about a subject, I’m not sure you need to take that exam,” said Brown.