AP Teachers Opt for More Laid-Back Units

With the last AP test being held on Friday, May 13, many AP teachers are offering different activities following the exam. 

AP classes are college-level courses taught within a high school. At the end of the year, students within these classes can sign up to take a final exam for the course. This exam will not affect their grade within the class, however, if they pass the exam they may receive college credit for the class. According to the college board website, “The AP Program offers college-level courses and exams that you can take in high school.”

The final exams took place from Monday, May 2, 2022, through Friday, May 13, 2022. Meanwhile, school ends for seniors on June 4th, and for juniors, sophomores, and freshmen on June 11th. 

After the AP exams, some teachers have a more laid-back curriculum with games and movies during class, while others opt for continuing their students’ education with another unit following the exam. 

Hannah Cabush, an Arrowhead senior, says the majority of her AP classes are “watching movies” after the exam. 

Katie Herrmann, the AP Literature and Composition Teacher, says she tries “to find a balance between fun [and] engaging celebratory activities in these last few days and those that provide enrichment, whether they have to do with critical reading, writing, thinking, or communication skills.” 

Herrmann explains the importance of continuing education: “The primary goal I have for my students after the AP exam is for them to continue reading, whether for pleasure or academic pursuits, as it’s the most important skill that will be needed in their lives after high school. Furthermore, reading is an endeavor that we engage in so that we can make sense of our world and the challenges we’re presented with along the way, and life after high school is just the beginning of the metaphorical instruction manual our students will be seeking as they embark on their individual journeys.”

Cabush notes that some of her classes are continuing on with units. 

Cabush says, “In Physics C we have a project for our Six Flags trip that we have been preparing for. In Bio, we are doing a post-ap unit on bioethics. In Macro we have a short unit on starting retirement funds/personal finance.” 

Oliver Lee, a senior at Arrowhead, says “[his] AP classes are doing projects. [He has] video projects in AP Spanish and AP Euro.” 

In regard to past exam units, Lee says, “AP Spanish is doing a poetry unit and AP Calc is doing 3D Calculus.”

While many teachers opt for watching movies, Lee says, “[He is] very glad that this year, we’re still doing fun projects instead of watching movies for three weeks.”

Herrmann says, “While it’s okay to scale down the intensity and pace a little bit, it’s still important for our students to understand that just because we’ve finished our exam, that doesn’t mean we should stop learning and being curious about the world.”