AP Science classes have just added another exam to their curriculum. This year, the chair of the Science Department, Frank Greally, along with all of the AP science teachers, decided to cap the year with  a final exam, in addition to the cumulative standardized AP exam already in place.

While this may seem like an addition to an already challenging class, but Greally assures that the exam  is solely for the benefit of the students. “We felt that we were doing the students an injustice by not giving them an exam that covered the entire year before they took the AP exam,” said Greally of the reasoning behind implementing the exam. Greally also assured us that this test will not be the same as a traditional final. “Where other finals are at the end of May in the gym, these will be right after spring break and they will take place in the classroom. The test won’t be worth as much as a traditional final, it will count towards the second semester grade,” said Greally, who views this final as more of a “practice” for the AP exams.

Elisabeth Merrill, the AP Biology teacher, shared many similar views as Greally. “I think that sometimes, students tend to slack off at the end of the year, so after the APs, [Greally and all of the AP science teachers] had a meeting and decided that a final would help keep kids motivated and help them review material.” Both Merrill and Greally want to clarify that this exam is mainly a practice, aimed at improving the students’ knowledge and preparation for the AP exams.

Zack Barnet, a Junior in AP Environmental Science, believes that the addition of a final is a beneficial asset. “It’s kind of upsetting, but I think that, in the long run, it will be more helpful than harmful, and the good outweighs the bad,” said Barnet. “I think it creates more stress for the student,” Barnet also noted, stating some reasons why the additional exam could spark controversy. Not all students agree. “Why would they put kids in a situation where they have to study for two very stressful exams for one AP class? AP classes are stressful enough as is,” said Arnav Garg, a student in AP Biology. “I think that it’s kind of useless. Even though one of the the main goals was to incentivize the seniors to take the second semester more seriously, if they don’t care about the AP exam, then they aren’t going to care more when there is a final,” said junior Jonas Kolker, a student in AP Physics. AP science finals will take place within their classroom in the beginning of April.