By: Jada Pan, Staff Writer
Loose notes strewn across my desk. Prep books stacked beside my overheating computer trying to run forty tabs at once. The fan whirs and the sound fills the room, my mind, just as the stress of exams muddles my memory.
It’s not just me. Every April, students experience the overwhelming cram before AP exams. And when we think we can finally take a breath, it’s back to late-night review sessions during dead week—for another exam in the same class we just took the AP exam for.
Sounds redundant? That’s because it often is. Hence, the question of whether AP classes should have final exams. My answer is yes.
AP classes should have finals, especially because not all students who take the class plan to take the exam administered by the College Board in early May. Some take the class simply because they are interested and want the GPA bump. Having a final allows all students to be assessed fairly, so the actual question should instead be the timing of that final and its purpose.
If the final is a test, then it should be given before the AP exams. For instance, in Mr. Wang’s AP Biology class, the last multiple-choice practice exam that students take before the AP exam counts as their final. This helps students review and prepare for the AP test as they familiarize themselves with both the format and content.
Furthermore, it also motivates students to review throughout the weeks before the AP exams. Natalie Lo, a junior taking AP Biology, shared her thoughts. “I think it’s better to have the final before the AP exam because when you’re studying for the final, you’re also studying for the AP. It’s more beneficial that way. And after the AP exam, you can finally relax.”
On the other hand, some argue that finals should remain after the AP exams in the last week of May. They reason that because students have already studied for the AP, then the final exam shouldn’t be too hard for them. However, when finals feel more like busy work, the stress that comes with them seems pointless. Motivation drops and memory retention fades; the final feels like a burden for many.
“If the final is after, it’s much more stressful,” said Lo. “I have to relearn everything again for the final. My memory retention is really poor after the AP exam.”
Given the redundancy of a final test after AP exams, AP U.S. History teacher Ms. Campbell assigns a final project instead.
“They do a lot of cramming for the AP, and then having them do that again a couple weeks later—it doesn’t really make any sense to me,” she said. “They can’t just do nothing. And so I would hope the project is more valuable than a test because it’s an overview of everything we’ve learned.”
Finals don’t necessarily have to be the traditional scantron or essay. They can be capstone projects, group work, a reflection, and maybe even celebrations. I think the best way to end an AP class could be a combination of both a structured review and final before the AP exam to help students prepare, followed by a meaningful and fun wrap-up afterward. Because after all the effort and hard work poured into AP exams, students deserve more than another test.
