Advanced Placement (AP) courses represent the most rigorous academics offered at Scituate High School. Students enrolled in these classes are encouraged to take the corresponding AP exams offered by the College Board. These exams, which cost $97 each, cover everything an AP student should have learned throughout the entirety of the course.

To help combat the stress and anxiety associated with AP exams, Scituate High School, in conjunction with Mass Insight and Applied Practice–two organizations that provide support for AP teachers and students, offers AP students the opportunity to take a “mock exam” prior to the College Board exams in May. These mock exams, which are free-of-charge to SHS students, act as real-life trial runs of the AP exams; however, students receive specific feedback from teachers who evaluate their writing. After taking the mock exam, students receive their scores and feedback in 2-4 weeks. 

On Wednesday, February 15th,  AP Language and Composition and AP Literature students will forgo their usual “late-start” to take a mock exam, which begins at 8:00 AM. SHS English department chair, Caitlin Bergeron, feels that students should take advantage of this opportunity. Bergeron explained that AP students tackle a tough AP curriculum, and the mock exams give students “a different type of experience where you are in an actual exam setting.”

Bergeron said the exam setting is extremely important to help students prepare for the College Board AP exam. She understands that many students take more than one AP course, and it can be stressful to participate in all of these exam opportunities. Therefore, the department chairs tried to stagger the mock exams throughout the semester: “We intentionally spread out the mock exams across ELA, science, and math, hoping that anyone enrolled in more than one can take as many as they want without it being too much.”

AP science exams will be offered on Wednesday, March 15th, and AP mathematics exams will be held on Wednesday, April 12th. SHS Math department chair, Elizabeth Grindle, believes the mock exams are “definitely beneficial because they give you some very specific feedback on how you would do on these tests and see what the test looks like.” Math mock exams are offered in AP Statistics, AP Computer Science, as well as AP and BC Calculus. The department is looking to have 100% participation among these AP students.

Referring to last year’s experience with the mock exam, Grindle said, “Math turnaround for scoring was less than a week, which was a huge asset for students and teachers, and we had students report they regretted not taking it when going over the reports for the assessments.” Grindle said the teachers and students found the mock exams helpful because they can see what they need to work on before the May exam schedule. This year, the only AP math class that doesn’t offer a mock exam is Computer Science Principles.

SHS senior Tess Railton is currently enrolled in AP Environmental Science, AP Literature, AP Calculus, and AP Psychology. During her junior year, she took the AP Language and Composition mock exam, which she found useful: She commented, “It was helpful to understand the format of the test, and I was able to get experience,” adding, “I was able to understand the format of the test and get experience.” Railton, who said she is taking the AP Literature mock exam, wants “to get the experience to help me get a good score on the real exam.”