The Easiest and Hardest AP Classes at SHS

Samantha Roman, Staff Writer

As early as sophomore year, SHS students have the option to take AP courses. AP stands for Advanced Placement. Such classes provide the opportunity for some students to earn college credits or class waivers if they achieve a certain score on the AP exam, which is administered by the College Board during the month of May. All AP courses require focus and determination, as they are typically rigorous, fast-paced courses. Although the AP offerings are all challenging, students at SHS seem to have different perspectives on which AP courses are the hardest and easiest. 

According to a survey of juniors and seniors, the easiest courses at SHS are AP Statistics or AP Language and Composition, which is considered the “easiest” because it is based on building reading and writing skills. 

When asked about the hardest AP courses, most students identified science or history courses. Many juniors, who typically haven’t taken as many AP classes as seniors, chose AP Biology, AP Physics, or AP US History as the most challenging AP course they have taken. AP Chemistry, which few underclassmen take unless it is taken in exchange for Honors Chemistry during their sophomore year, was also singled out as one of the most difficult courses. 

Seniors who have taken a great variety of AP classes consider AP Biology, AP Physics, or AP Spanish the hardest classes. AP Spanish classes are traditionally small, and students who take the course are required to read, speak and write in Spanish at a high level.

Other than adding language to the list of hardest AP classes, a majority of senior responses lined up with junior responses, agreeing that AP Physics and AP Biology present a high level of difficulty. 

At SHS, it is hard to say if one AP class is the hardest. Out of everyone surveyed, most students said AP Physics was the hardest. However, each person has their academic strengths and weaknesses, making the classes they take hard to generalize as hard or easy. Each student takes a variety of courses throughout high school, giving each person a unique academic experience.