The Advanced Placement (AP) tests will begin for all high school students on May 5, 2025.
According to College Board, the program that runs the AP tests, there are 40 different courses high school students can take, depending on whether their school provides them. Students receive their time and place for their test when enrolled, and come test day prepared with a computer. The AP tests are scored on a scale of five. Scores in the range of one to two are considered not passing. A score of three to five is considered passing.
“[AP classes provide] a grade point average (GPA) boost, which is really helpful,” world history teacher Patrick McDevitt said. “Taking an AP class is the only way that you can get above a 4.0 with a weighted GPA. So that’s something that colleges would recognize immediately… [it’s] a way to set yourself apart and make you a more desirable candidate and someone who looks to be more prepared for the college experience.”
Along with the benefit of AP classes providing a GPA boost, it also provides college credit based on the score you receive on the AP exam.
“There are AP Scholar Awards and opportunities for students who get a five,” history teacher Kayla Dice said. “The real benefit of getting a five would be getting that college credit, it being on your transcript and being a resume builder too.”
While college credit is a huge benefit for students to gain, not all students who take the test will gain this college credit from their chosen institution.
“Most colleges will accept a score of three [to receive college credit],” McDevitt said. “Although some of the more competitive schools will only accept a four, and the really competitive schools will only accept a five.”
According to College Board’s website, they have 1,294 schools that will accept at least a three for college credit, 371 schools that would accept a four for college credit and 21 schools will only take a five for college credit.
“Earning a five puts you at about the top 10% to 13% of total test takers, which shows that you are at the highest possible level and you really mastered that content,” McDevitt said. “For colleges, that can be a heads up that this is a very serious student who’s very well prepared.”
Through this data, teachers such as McDevitt and Dice are able to adjust the curriculum to focus on students’ needs.
“I keep track of data so I can understand whether or not what I’m doing is working,” McDevitt said. “Last year, we had 14.5% of our test takers score a five, and the year before that, we had 31.5% of our test takers score a five. Last year we also had a lot more students taking AP World History, so while the number of scores of five went down, the total number of students who passed the AP Exam went up.”
AP subjects could be seen as very dense classes due to the amount of information students are required to remember. For example, history AP classes need to have studied nearly 800 years of history, which can be very different from college courses.
“When you get to college, you’ll do a deep dive on like one specific thing in your upper division classes,” McDevitt said. “In terms of high school experience, an AP class will expose you to a lot of different material that hopefully will pique your interest.”
Through interest, McDevitt believes students will be able to thrive and fully reach their maximum potential for their time in class.
“The most consistent [type of] students who are scoring fives are the students who are interested in the subject matter,” McDevitt said. “If you’re not into history as much yet, maybe that can be tough, because it’s very demanding, and if you don’t find it interesting, it’s going to be a chore to try to capture all that information. But students who are curious and interested are the ones who are typically willing to go above and beyond and really try to make connections.”
Although not everyone is interested in the topic, it does not mean they cannot thrive in the class. Dice believes that with effort, anyone can pass this test with flying colors, which is always worth the effort.
“[Getting a five is] definitely worth the effort,” Dice said. “Pushing yourself to do the best that you can is beneficial, but it’s not worth dragging down your mental health, or really dragging down your sleep and doing things that are going to affect you long term in a negative way. It’s more important to figure out a healthy balance so that you don’t overkill and overdo it yourself.”
