Throughout the school year, Newport Harbor students who are taking AP (advanced placement) classes have studied a variety of topics. These classes push students to challenge themselves and take classes that replicate those you take in college. Classes also provide a grade bump that causes a student’s grade point average to increase. This is a very valuable when applying for college.

During the week of May 14th through to May 18th, students take the exam that they have been preparing and studying for all year. The test evaluates how well students have comprehended the facts and information their teacher has taught them throughout the course. The exam is scored out of 5 points, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Students want to aim to receive a 3 or higher on the test. This score is provided to colleges to show the students skill in a college level class. If a student does well enough on the test, the class can be turned into credit for when they go to college.

The weeks and week leading up to testing week is filled with constant studying and stressing for most students taking these tests. AP testing is for all subjects from AP social science courses, sciences, math, and english, each subject having its own day of testing during this week. After taking these tests, many classes have completed all the content of the course and are usually done with learning new information for the duration of the school year. Now these students are doing small exit projects for the rest of the year. We suggest challenging yourself and taking some AP classes if you feel comfortable because they provide you with a new range of knowledge most other classes don’t offer.