(June 14, 2007) — Have you ever slept with a book? Seems pretty weird, but seniors were forced to cuddle with their AP practice books night after night during junior year. Students were studying every minute to get ready for their tests. Not only were they taking preparatory classes, they were also spending tons of money on books and practice tests. “I felt I wasn’t prepared enough from my actual AP class, so I had to purchase other books and self study,” said senior Johnathan Jianu. The AP tests were clearly going to help the students follow their dreams of attending college and the tests helped many students earn credit so they would not have to take those classes in college. Although students had hectic schedules, they needed to spend their time reading books for AP tests (such as those published by Kaplan, Princeton Review and College Board) so that they could stay on top of the test topics. The AP tests ranged from calculus to AP biology to American literature and much more. The tests were not cheap – above $80 dollars – and proved to be a hassle for many students to sign up for. Kaylynne Brown, account clerk at Clark, would wait in her office at snack, before school and after school to help students sign up for AP tests. Most students procrastinated and left signing up for the last day. Senior Sevada Abrahamian remembers running to the line at snack and barely making it before the bell rang. “It was the last day and I was so scared that I was not going to be able to sign up,” Abrahamian said. Math teacher Fred Blattner coordinates the sign ups and double checks if all the correct tests are bought for AP’s. He said he stresses the importance of signing up early year after year, but students never seem to learn. “We have a school full of procrastinators and I hope it’s something they grow out of,” Blattner said. “In real life there are worse consequences.” Students not only have to take the AP tests which they study hours and hours for, as well as the PSAT’s, but they eventually have to take the real one, the SAT, during their senior year. Year after year they complain, but almost every student ends up in the same room, taking the same test.
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APs and PSAT’s — oh my!
February 18, 2009