May 6th to May 17. An infamous and stressful week to high schoolers all across America. Why,

you may ask? AP exams. For those of you unfamiliar, APs are tests (usually in conjunction with

classes) that you can take to potentially get college credits. Along with looking good on your

college application, college credits are generally very expensive and difficult to get, so having

college credits early gives you a jump start to graduating.

Although students take the test in May, they don’t get their scores until July. Tests are scored

out of 5, with a score of 3 or higher being a passing grade. However, AP tests are unusual in

grading, as scores rely on how everybody who takes the test does. As an example, if a test is

particularly difficult and much of the population who takes the test does poorly, a 3 when graded

initially may become a 5. If a test is particularly easy, however, somebody who gets a 3 initially

may get a 2. Credits vary per class, and certain colleges only take credits with a higher passing

grade. A better ranked college may only give college credits to a student who scores a 4 or

higher on their exam, while an average college may give credit for a 3 or higher.

Mineola High School offers these AP classes (* is an exam that I took)

- US Government and Politics

- Environmental Science

- Seminar

- Spanish Language and Culture

- English Literature and Comp,

- Chemistry

- Psychology

- US History

- Computer Science Principles

- Studio Art

- Biology

- Calculus AB

- Calculus BC

- Human Geography*

- English Language and Comp

- World History

- Statistics

- Music Theory

- Computer Science A*

This year, I took my first AP Exams. As a Freshman, this was new territory for me. While I was,

of course, stressed about the tests and classes, I was excited to have the opportunity for a head

start to my college career. I took the classes and exams attached to Human Geography and

Computer Science Principles. Human Geo has a 54.4 percent pass rate, while Computer

Science Principles has a 71.2.

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