In early May, many upperclassmen, and perhaps a few sophomores, spend two weeks taking AP exams. For many juniors, this is their first year taking AP classes because the majority of AP courses are available only to upperclassmen. Students must earn at least a 3 on AP exams to receive college credit, while more selective colleges often expect scores of 4s and 5s. A large number of the upperclassmen are taking at least one AP; As Ms. Lori Aufiero, Director of School Counseling, notes, Hastings “offered 22 different exams” and “at least 400 students tested between the grade levels,” with the majority of test takers being upperclassmen. During these already stressful weeks, students continue attending classes, completing assignments, and preparing for the end of the school year.
When interviewed, students largely agreed on one thing: AP weeks are stressful. What they disagreed on, however, was why. Some attributed the chaos to heavier workloads, while others argued that the workload itself was not necessarily the problem.
Norah Destin, a junior who took one AP exam this year, described her workload during AP weeks as “a lot” to manage. Anna Konon, a junior who took two AP exams this year, similarly explains that while her AP classes reduced assignments, “the classes that I didn’t have the APs in just kept up the same amount of work.” Another junior, Samantha Colletti, who took two AP exams this year, agrees that “overall, there was less schoolwork during AP week[s],” though she notes still having “one particularly difficult assignment during the time.” Genesis Chacha, a junior who took three AP exams this year, describes workload as largely “the same,” though she notes that the workload in some classes felt heavier than others. Offering a different perspective, Hanna Ben-Zvi, another junior who took two AP exams this year, described workload as “much lighter” because her exams occurred during the first week of testing, leaving the second week with less assignments.
Although students disagreed about workload itself, many described the combination of coursework and exam preparation as difficult to manage. Norah explains that AP weeks were “very time-consuming” because she had to “find a balance between schoolwork and studying for the AP exam.” She describes finishing homework around 11 p.m. before beginning AP studying around midnight, calling the experience “very stressful” and saying that it took “a very big mental toll.” Anna similarly describes AP week as overwhelming, noting how she “was so stressed during that week” while balancing schoolwork and AP studying. Samantha also agrees that the weeks of APs were overwhelming, stating, “my stress level definitely increased.” Genesis explains that alongside AP studying, she was also managing major projects and lengthy assignments from other classes, which made the period “pretty stressful.” Hanna offered a somewhat different perspective. Though the AP exams did make her “stressed,” she explains that she “didn’t let [the stress] get to her,” in part due to the fact that she worked ahead to get some of her larger assignments done before the AP weeks began.
Counselors and administrators described the issue differently, pointing to several causes of anxiety during AP weeks. School counselor Ms. Randie Shaw explains that while APs “play a part” in student stress, she believes April, May, and June generally “tend to be more stressful months for students.” She points to year-end stress, SAT and ACT testing, and the fact that “testing in general can be stressful during those last three months of school.” Ms. Aufiero shares a positive perspective, stating that teachers do “a really nice job of knowing the windows and balancing the coursework in their classes” and describing support during AP season as “an all-hands-on-deck approach.” Still, Ms. Shaw notes that measuring stress itself can be difficult because students “might seek [guidance] out less during AP exam week because they have less time to do it.”
Another recurring question among students was why they receive time off for midterms and finals but not for AP exams. When asked why she believes students do not receive additional time off, Norah responds, “I wish I knew the answer to that, but I really don’t,” adding that more time off would give students more opportunities to study for AP exams and complete homework. Anna also “do[esn’t] know” why students do not receive school off for AP weeks. Other students offer explanations, even if they did not necessarily agree with them. Hanna argues that because students already “get school off for finals,” it may be “hard to give [time] off for both.” Samantha suggests schools may believe it “wouldn’t be fair” to give the time off because some students do not take AP exams, though she questions this logic, stating, “during midterm week, we have off, and some people have less midterms than others, so even with less midterms, they still get a whole week off.” Genesis similarly believes that because some students, especially the younger ones, are not taking AP exams, school remains in session during the AP weeks, though she still feels that “a whole week off would be nice, so that way we can spend the days in between studying.”
Principal Mr. Andrew Clayman largely agrees with this practical explanation: “Midterms and finals impact all students. APs impact some students,” he explains. Because students take individualized schedules with different combinations of AP and non-AP classes, he argues that “it wouldn’t really be feasible to stop all instruction for the whole school for AP week.” Mr. Clayman also points out that AP testing creates unusual scheduling problems because “AP weeks happen as the rest of the courses that are not AP courses are really starting to enter the final stretch of the year.” Because students take vastly different combinations of classes, he argues, “it’s tricky to be able to manage those workload questions across different combinations.”
Despite describing the issue as complicated, both administrators and counselors suggested that additional support during AP season could help students. Mr. Clayman admits that the school currently has “not a ton” of measures specifically targeting AP stress, but says next year’s priority is “to be really proactive in communication with and among staff” so teachers are aware earlier when students are entering particularly stressful periods. Similarly, Ms. Shaw suggests schools could be more proactive by offering stress-reduction activities, creating spaces designed to decrease stress, or holding workshops focused on managing stress during high-intensity periods.
Neither administrators nor counselors suggested there was a simple solution to the rampant student anxiety during AP weeks. As Mr. Clayman puts it, AP season is “a stressful point in time for students,” “but hopefully,” he adds, “through some proactive calendaring, we’ll be able to alleviate it to an extent.”
