by Shelby Powers and Megan Haymond

For two weeks every May, nervous students gather in their high school gymnasiums, armed with #2 pencils, black pens, calculators, and a year full of hard work and preparation. Ladies and gentleman, it is AP test time!

Founded after a Ford Foundation study in 1955, the New York-based College Board organization has developed curriculum guidelines and administered tests in order for high school students to take courses and receive credit for college level. Advanced Placement classes are developed by college professors and AP teachers. Originally, the College Board offered 11 course options, but it now offers over 30 and has since become a pillar of the American education system. The College Board hit a major milestone when in 2006, over one million students took over two million Advanced Placement exams.

As college becomes a more expensive and competitive process, these classes and tests have become necessary for students applying for everything from state schools to prestigious private universities. Along with the laundry list of test scores, activities, and a high GPA, having a rigorous schedule of AP classes improves students’ chances of acceptance.

Taking AP tests also is a good financial decision; earning college credit at $89 per test is much less pricey than taking a several hundred dollar college course. The College Board says most four-year colleges in the United States provide course credits and/or Advanced Placement credit for students who score a 3, 4, or 5 on an exam. These grades are defined below:

• 5 – Extremely well qualified

• 4 – Well qualified

• 3 – Qualified

• 2 – Possibly qualified

• 1 – No recommendation

The grading process is somewhat complicated. While computers grade the multiple choice sections of the exams, free response and essay portions are scored by trained readers, usually AP teachers in the respective subject areas themselves, at the AP reading each June. The scores on various components are weighted and combined into a raw Composite Score. The Chief Reader for each exam then decides on the grade cutoffs for that year’s exam, which determine how the Composite Scores are converted into the final grades.

Bellbrook students are now in the home stretch of the exam period, with the first week finished. They will not have to wait in anticipation for very long either; as of 2013, students can access their scores online in late June/early July. May the odds be forever in your favor, AP kids.