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Are your AP grades predictive of your score on the final test?

Throughout high school, AP classes are encouraged for those who plan to go to college. These classes are meant to prepare students for the rigorous courses for those subjects in college. The entire AP class is set up around the learning material and how to pass the test. However, are these classes truly preparing students for the tests, and are the grades received any indication of what score you are likely to attain on the final exam?

AP English teacher at Licking Valley High School, Mrs.Adkins,reasons that the outliers of the AP Language and Comp test make it nearly impossible to predict scores. She thinks, “If they would be able to sit through and a college comp class , their knowledge should enable them to earn a passing score the test.”

That said, some of her brightest students and best writers scored a non-passing two on their AP Language and Comp test in the spring.

LV history teacher Mr. Nethers described the differences between the achievement of a good grade, and the achievement of a high or even passing score on AP tests. There is only one shot to receive a good score, you cannot redo the test, and there is no way to know exactly what material will be on it.

Time outside of class is essential to passing the test, and LV history teacher Mr. Clark describes what’s needed as “an entirely higher level of outside preparation.” Many students are not willing, or simply don’t have the time for this. To receive a good grade, you have multiple chances to raise that grade, and you know exactly what to study for tests and quizzes.

Many factors such as the students’ test-taking ability, the person grading the test, and the writing prompts given on the test can make the prediction of an AP score hard to determine. There have been recent studies that show multiple-choice tests are the least effective measure of knowledge and this makes up for 45 percent of AP test scores. So, is it fair to the students who work hard all year just to end up failing the final exam?

Mr. Anderson, the current physical fitness teacher at LV, stated that “it all depends on how the class is taught.” In an AP class he once took, they focused on terms and was well prepared for the test, but classes in which teachers do not focus on terms may not prepare students as well.

Another factor of these non-passing test scores, as stated by Mr.Clark, is the current grading system. Because of the inflation of grades due to redos and retakes, grades are a less accurate representation of students actual knowledge and skill of that subject.

After reviewing data, it can be concluded that grades received in any particular class will not determine your AP test grade. Two unnamed students in the same class who received the same grade of a C+, one received a score 1 and the other received a score of 4.

Though this may be true, most teachers agreed that AP classes will prepare students for college courses in corresponding subjects. Mr. Nethers stated his children took AP Chem in high school, and even though they all failed the test, they were well prepared for the same subject matter in college and were able to study less in that specific course.

While AP is not for everyone, it is highly encouraged for college-bound students who are willing to work. Are grades in AP classes predictive of your score on the final test? To answer this simply, no. Due to the aforementioned reasons, they are not.

However, if the question being asked was, are AP course useful, the answer would always be yes.

These courses cannot only prepare you for college courses, but also teach you valuable test-taking skills, and study skills that will be useful throughout one's life.

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