With the end of the year approaching, students are faced with two of their final challenges: SOL exams and AP tests. These tests are designed to determine whether a student has learned enough about the course to earn credit for either high school graduation or for college.

    SOL’s are standardized tests that all Virginia students must take to determine whether they have retained enough information about a class to receive credit for it. Since AP courses are college level courses, the exams are optional.

    However, whether students decide to take advanced courses or a regular classes, every teacher is presented with the task of sufficiently preparing their students for a final assessment; how teachers prepare students for the course exam tends to depend on the subject.

    “When [subjects] are self-contained, it’s easier to prep for something, but when something is cumulative like English, it’s harder because you have to ‘create’ critical thinkers,” said English teacher Nathan Wright.

    In order to prepare his English 10 students for the 11th grade SOL, he uses strategies that involve a number of critical reading questions and require students to analyze various literary subjects. Wright says that these strategies are, “under the radar, but it incorporates everything.”

    Human geography teacher Jennifer Long has only one year of material to cover, as well as a set outline for the SOL. Many teachers find this simpler because they are given guidelines to follow.

    Long tends to put the majority of the focus on preparation for the AP test; since the SOL is such a basic test in comparison with the AP test, SOL material is automatically covered in-depth as students are prepared for the AP test.

    “It is simpler to have guidelines to follow because it gives you the bare bones of what to teach, but allows for flexibility of what to add,” said Long.

    But while everyone knows that teachers prepare students for exams, the question is whether or not students prepare themselves.

    “I do feel prepared with my personal preparation, and I think that teachers over-prepare with the amount of review packets, study sessions, and over-emphasis on the SOL,” said junior Eliza Reyes.

    On the other hand, junior Carl Hitt feels that teachers under-prepare; review packets just are not enough. Yet at the same time, his personal methods of preparation always leave him feeling fully prepared.

    “I review old materials, and I look over tests and quizzes,” said Hitt.

    The students’ main motivation for personal preparation is fueled by the possibility of exemption from final exams.

    “Honestly, I don’t want to take the final [exam]. Of course, passing the class is important to me, that’s a given. One of my main priorities is making sure I don’t have to take that exam. It makes the end of the year so much less stressful,” said Reyes.

            Whether one is a teacher or a student, SOL and AP tests are among the most important events of the year, especially in terms of academics; everyone has to prepare, and everyone feels the pressure. Both students and teachers find that a little extra effort in preparing saves a lot of time and trouble later.