As spring veers ahead so too do the two weeks of hard work for Advanced Placement (AP) students. The first and second weeks of May are met with a large “sigh” by AP students as the final culmination of their year is ending with the dreaded AP exam. Ranging from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 3 hours and 15 minutes, these exams consist of content learned throughout the entire year. With only about two weeks in-class to study for the AP exams, students may feel overwhelmed with their piles of homework left in their other classes. This brings a proposition: students taking the AP exam should be allowed extensions for assignments during the week up to the exam. 

It’s understandable that a student’s word-of-mouth to a teacher may not be reliable, but this could be changed with Genesis noting whether or not the student is registered for the AP exam. While Genesis tells teachers the student is taking the exam the day of, it does not let teachers know prior to that day. This addition to Genesis for the teachers could lead to an easy extension for students who are taking exams and may be more focused on studying for their exam rather than what’s going on in the class that week. Additionally, giving AP students the week of no assignments could lead to a build-up of assignments after. However, this risk comes with reward– getting a 5. 

AP students spend their whole year (sometimes two, if you take AP U.S. History at East) learning the content on the exams, and some don’t finish until days before the exam. With these content-heavy courses, teachers only giving the last few weeks leading up to the test for in-class preparation is difficult, leading many students to do independent prep as well. 

This independent prep paired with homework, tests, and projects in other classes can lead to high amounts of stress and the potential for students to feel underprepared for their exams with the lack of study-time prior to their exam. The solution of being given extensions eases this problem, leading students to be able to have their prep time for their exams while also not being exempt from their work as students. 

The spring semester for many high school students is stressful; the SAT, AP exams, and finals all paired in just a few months. With just a little less pressure and more flexibility offered to students, this could create a big difference. Allowing extensions on these assignments during AP season is just a simple step, but one that truly shows the school’s value to student success.