Now that Spring Break is over, it is almost test season, whether those tests are the SOL tests or AP tests depends on which classes students have taken. Many students have taken the SOLs since elementary school, and are familiar with their structure. The AP tests however, may be foreign for a lot of students, and they differ in many ways from the SOLs.
The first major difference is that the AP exams are timed, while the SOLs are not. A student can take as much or as little time as they need on an SOL, but in the AP exams, there is a set amount of time that students have to answer specific sections of the test. This can seem stressful at first, but if you prepared well, the allotted time will be more than enough.
Another aspect that is different is the scoring. The SOLs are graded out of 600, with 400 and above being passing grades. The AP tests are graded out of five, with three and above being passing grades.
While the tests themselves may be different, the methods of preparing for them are mostly the same. You should try to get a good night’s sleep the night before so you are mentally prepared for the exam. In the days or even weeks leading up to the exam, you should study material from throughout the year, not focusing too much on one unit or topic. You will most likely be doing some sort of review in class, so that will help with the studying aspect too.
There are tests going on throughout the day. A lot of them start at eight in the morning, so before school even starts. Another common start time is at noon; the eight o’clock tests will be finished by then, so testing spaces can be reused. The tests that start at noon usually finish after school, so you may end up being late to practice if you play a sport.
The first test is AP Chemistry at eight in the morning on Monday, May 7. The last test is AP Latin at noon on Friday, May 18. Every other test falls somewhere between those two.
The AP tests may seem like a daunting challenge, but with the right mindset, and good study habits, they can be passed just like any other tests. Good luck to everyone taking AP tests this year.