With the end of the school year just around the corner, Heritage Students become ever more restless–anticipating a sweet release into the warm summer air. It’s often around this time every year that our organization drops, we stop preparing for tests, and we start relying on those easy projects to carry our grades. Unfortunately, before we can do that–those who have taken an AP class this year may be stuck taking their Exams next month. From APUSH to AP Psych here are some quick tips that may help everyone relieve some of that pent up test anxiety;
Have topics pre-saved for essays! This goes especially for those history and english exams–if you know there is a time period or special historical event you could talk about in depth for hours, think about how you can incorporate that! Sometimes it takes a big weight off our backs when we realize we can use something we have prior knowledge about on those big essays, so be sure to fully understand what you could add as a nice little evidence point on your essay. Example; “Explain one time in history economic discrimination has influenced humanity” — If you know a lot about social systems in the early 1800s, USE IT! If you know loads of information about the Titanic and the third vs first class lifeboats… USE IT! Sometimes the easy option IS the best one. Don’t overthink it!
Read over previous lectures; if you know your teacher has slideshows saved on Schoology–make sure you read through them once before going to school on test day. Even a short readthrough can give you the answer to a question you forgot through the course of the year! There’s no need to completely disregard all studying simply because you don’t have time–studying can be a short 15 minute session reading through premade slides!
Don’t stress the score, stress the test; this may sound a bit stupid–”I’m taking the test for the score?” Yes, you are–but remember that if your brain is stuck on what the outcome of the test will be, you’ll never be in a good enough mindset to focus on the paper in front of you. Take one question at a time, not focusing on the major goals at the end will help you stay in the moment–that way you can give each question your full attention.
Even though these exams are right around the corner, remember that your success in life will never be determined by an AP exam you took in high school, you are worth more than your grades! Good luck Heritage, let’s all get 5’s!
