Advanced Placement classes are appealing because of something they offer that traditional high school classes do not: college credits. A year of taking on twenty-page readings or overly complex math equations with the promise of forgoing a college class and freeing up your schedule for other opportunities. However, this can only happen if you achieve the daunting task of getting a score of four or five on the exam (or sometimes even a three). Although there is a vast array of videos and articles that one could read to try and prepare for the hours-long exam, there is only so much that can be done without being taught the test – something some teachers do not abide by.

According to “Preparing for the AP test: The Dangers of Teaching the Exam” by Jonathen M. Chu, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, the “dangers” that come from teaching the AP test is that it “limits the teachers autonomy within teaching.” While this is true to some extent, as there is a specific curriculum that must be followed, drifting from the AP test makes it increasingly difficult to catch up. AP classes are structured to fit a hefty amount of work in a short period of time, so attempting to factor in other material only harms one group: the students. If there is material that is skipped over or not discussed thoroughly in order to free up space for other content, the responsibility falls to the students to either seek out that information themselves or accept they could lose points on their exam. As it is, AP students already receive plenty of homework, so this reckless practice only adds to the stressful environment. Despite that the LFA handbook promises that AP homework should take “45 minutes,” this appears to only be true on a light homework day and is just for one class. If you consider the added research that students would have to engage in to make up for missed content, the “45” can quickly double.

Carol Corbett Burris, a prominent educator and author, proposed in her book “Opening the Common Core: How to Bring All Students to College and Career Readiness” that, in addition to the limited autonomy in teaching, students experience tremendous amounts of stress in regards to pushing for a 4 or 5, and, for that reason, teachers should allow time to focus on other things. According to the College Board, AP classes are defined as showing “colleges you’re motivated to succeed, and taking the exam demonstrates your commitment to tackle and complete college-level work.” It is common knowledge that AP classes are harder and more stressful – especially as the test date nears. If the idea is that teachers should avoid discussing the test in order to soften the innate pressure that comes with scoring well, students may end up not scoring well at all. There are specific skills that are looked for on AP tests that need to be taught in order to demonstrate correctly, and avoiding that to forgo distress is not productive. Considering that there is time for students to drop the class within two weeks if they feel it is too much, and the prior knowledge of the challenging course load, there is no reason to drift from the exam to avoid strain.

While AP classes are interesting and provide a further, in-depth look than traditional classes, much of the attraction comes from the college credit. Failing to recognize that aspect and in turn, failing to prepare students properly is unfair and irresponsible. Students are aware of what AP entails, and their expectations should not be made to drift from reality.