AP and IB tests are approaching; most of them take place in May and are administered in the testing center (room 1402). Many students stress over these tests, overfocusing on them or forgetting about work from other classes in the days leading up to testing.
For student Sady Jonart, AP Biology is her hardest class. “It’s hard to understand, because there’s so many different components going on,” she said. Her main source of stress is juggling her many classes with her many extracurricular activities.
Teachers are always trying to help manage the stress that comes with their classes. “When they practice, I don’t hold them to the actual time that the test requires at the beginning, because I want them to feel a little more relaxed,” Elizabeth Johnson, the AP and IB Spanish teacher at Skyline, said. Johnson is always trying to let her students have the least amount of stress and anstiness. She is also constantly trying to find a balance between the learning material and test preparation.
Johnson explained, “I will focus more on the lesson, and […] assure them that if we don’t get through all the different simulated tests, that, for sure, April will be the testing [preparation] month as it gets closer.” The AP Spanish exam is going to be May 14 this year, so as the test approaches, Johnson will try to lessen the work load on the student to allow them to focus more on studying for the AP test.
“I’ve given them [packets], especially with vocabulary and transitional phrases,” she said. Johnson hopes that, with the notes and packets she gives them and with the notes that the students take, they’ll have enough material to study and be fully prepared for the test.
However, Senior Ryli Jonart has some other views on some of the different classes. She stated, “How confident do I feel? Not at all, […] because there’s too much to learn and not enough time to learn it.” A problem is that students feel they must take a lot of rigorous AP or IB classes to get into the colleges that they want to go to, and this results in extreme workloads, or students shutting down because of the amount of stress or anxiety they’re feeling.
The AP and IB tests are approaching quickly, and they’re going to be here before students will know it. Some students start studying right after spring break, and some students won’t study at all. “The people who do really well start studying when they come back from spring break, and that’s when I would recommend starting. Especially if you have more than one [test],” said Ryli Jonart.
