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Is AP Worth the Extra Stress? BY AMANDA MCKECHNIE
Are you thinking about AP but worrying if it’ll be too difficult? Two of CHS’s AP teachers, Mrs. Zenion and Mrs. Johansen, sat down with The Entry to provide information about the AP courses and to weigh in on if taking AP classes is truly worth the extra academic stress they are known for creating.
Is AP Worth the Extra Stress?
BY AMANDA MCKECHNIE
Are you thinking about AP but worrying if it’ll be too difficult? Two of CHS’s AP teachers, Mrs. Zenion and Mrs. Johansen, sat down with The Entry to provide information about the AP courses and to weigh in on if taking AP classes is truly worth the extra academic stress they are known for creating.
English Literature and Composition AP teacher, Mrs. Zenion, provided some insightful information about the AP courses.
The AP course difficulty increases from Honors because it is based on preparing students for the AP test. In English AP, students practice Free Response Questions which the honor and CP courses do not do. Also AP can cover different topics than the Honors. Mrs. Zenion also noted that the English AP does read different books gearing towards more of the classics to prepare better for the AP test especially with vocabulary.
Upon successful test results, most AP courses can let students earn up to 6 college credits, 3 for enrollment and another 3 if the AP test is passed. However, not all colleges accept AP credits which leads some people to ponder whether it is really worth it to be in AP.
Mrs. Zenion expressed her opinion that the AP courses do teach valuable study skills even if colleges don’t except the credits. “AP students learn time management, thinking skills, and can be with like-minded people in a class,” said Zenion.
To relieve the stress Mrs. Zenion recommends meeting with teachers for extra help rather than referring to online sources. Meeting with a teacher can help a student work through their stress and help them better understand a topic.
Mrs. Zenion surveyed some of her students, Anna Kaooski, Sedona Calcione, Sarah Lopes, Joanna Yates, and Colin Phrommavanh, to see how many courses is advisable for one student to take. The average number of courses they are taking was four. They suggested that students should take AP if they are very interested in the subject because that will also make the class more enjoyable.
The Entry also then sat down with another teacher, Mrs. Johansen, one of the History AP teachers.
One difference between AP and Honors that Mrs. Johansen mentioned was the pace because AP classes often go at a quicker pace. Also, AP classes use a national rubric geared to make it a challenge for students.
Regardless of the challenges, AP might provide Mrs. Johansen still believes that it is extremely beneficial and prepares students for college. Mrs. Johansen believes AP will help students become better readers and thinkers, create good study skills, give students experience with a heavy course load, and also can improve SAT scores because of elevated vocabulary.
However, Mrs. Johansen mentions that AP classes should be limited because of the stress it can cause for students. One thing she discourages is students taking too many AP courses merely to help their class rank but instead should take up to three AP and choose classes they are interested in. Also, a contributing factor that Mrs. Johansen spoke about was what students choose for outside activities like sports or a job. These activities must be taken into consideration when deciding how many AP classes to take especially in the spring because that is when AP tests are.
To eliminate stress Mrs. Johansen suggests that students should not procrastinate and wait until the last minute to do their work. Also when doing AP work she recommends that students take little breaks in between to get a “mental break.”
“It is all about prioritizing schedules especially if students have a job, sports, etc.” Students should make a sacrifice to eliminate stress because a student shouldn’t have too much on their plates. Lastly, Mrs. Johansen mentions that sleep is very important for a student because that’s how a student’s brain can be properly rested to do a good job in school.
With all of this information in mind, hopefully, students can make the best decisions on what to do about your AP path!