As if the AP Tests needed to be any harder.
With the two weeks of laborious Advanced Placement testing now in the past, Seaholm’s much maligned trimester system has yet again shown its teeth and inhibited success.
When the schedule was first conceived, students and teachers alike feared that only two trimesters of an AP course—with two months off before the test— would be inadequate preparation for the challenging AP tests that demand consistency.
Without facilitating constant practice, the trimester indeed increases the difficulty of some of the APs.
“You develop a consistency in writing,” said AP Western Literature teacher Kyle Hall about the “consistent practice” her classes underwent during the first two trimesters.
However, the void between the end of the course and the exam, Hall said, has the potential to affect the scores.
“You’re going to be rusty,” Hall said. “You’re going in cold.”
Some in Hall’s class had the fortune of having the class for the third trimester, but for those who had the class 1st and 2nd trimesters, Hall noted that they were certainly at a disadvantage.
At the beginning of the year, it may not have seemed like the trimester could play such a pivotal role, but now, Hall’s opinion has changed.
“I didn’t think it would be as big of a problem as it is,” she added. “That was silly.”
Review sessions offered by AP teachers were an attempt to alleviate the problem posed by a two month layoff, but low turnouts attested to futility of the trimester.
“About 1 out of 8 students came,” said AP Government teacher Scott Craig.
Craig admitted that, although his review sessions were helpful to those who attended, all students would “still lose something” regardless of whether they came to reviews.
Due to the trimester, students had to focus on their current classes, and time to review for AP Tests with courses not in session was sparse.
“You forget that they have five other classes,” said Hall.
Craig noted that, when compared to last year, government students this year are “clearly at a disadvantage” for the tests.
This observation was held true for both teachers and students.
“I felt out of practice,” said senior Zach Bianchini, an AP Government student. “We got hosed.”
Bianchini, as well as other AP students, felt well prepared at the end of the 2nd Trimester, but seemed to be ill-prepared for the AP after a two-month layoff.
“I feel like I had the potential to get a five with everything I had learned,” said senior AP Western student Katie Lee. “It was just the practice I was lacking.”
Indeed, it was the absence of weekly writing that left Lee and other students in her situation “definitely rusty” for the exam they felt primed for back in March.
“I think if I had taken it at the end of the 2nd trimester I would have done better,” Lee said. “It’s just hard to practice English when you’re not in an English class.”
While the two trimester AP courses may have adequately prepped the students for an AP in March, the fact that the tests were issued in May killed any momentum.
Junior Aaron Pryka, an AP Psychology student, echoed the common gripe of students.
“I felt like I would’ve done much better if the test were in March,” said Pryka. “The longer, more specific details—like the parts of the brain—that are really important to the test were hard to remember.”
“The instruction in the AP Government course was fantastic. They [Harwood and Craig] really covered the course very well,” said senior Brian Palmeri. “At the end of the second trimester final, I felt I could run Congress, if neccessary.”
However, the lack of time and motivation certainly factored into Palmeri’s overall performance on the exam as he too felt out of touch with the material.
“The problem then became—with the time off— the motivation for studying was just not there,” Palmeri said. “It’s too bad because I thought my proficiency did weaken.”
The onus was placed on the students to keep up with the material, and it was their job to attend the reviews and work on their own to remain knowledgeable on the subject.
“We’re really relying on students to be self motivated,” said Craig. “Government is for seniors, and most seniors don’t want to extra work.”
