Stressed and over-tested, students across the county were finally given a break this year when the MCPS policy changed to exempt students in AP classes who take the AP subject exam from also taking a final exam in that class.

Instead, these students will complete a “culminating activity/assessment” that will count as 25 percent of the semester grade and will count as the exam grade as well. Those who do not take the AP subject exam, however, will have to take a final examination and also complete the culminating activity. But since all RHS students are required to take the AP subject exam if they take an AP class, this will not apply to most RHS students.

RHS Principal Dr. Debra Munk supported this decision when the county initially suggested it to the county principals. Said Dr. Munk, “I think this policy will make students’ lives a lot easier and I think it is really a good direction for us to go. I think we just over-test our kids, so this is just one less assessment that they will have to worry about.”

Since the AP subject exams are given in May and the final class exam is given in June, it is only logical that students learn material to prepare for the AP subject test and then simply do a project for the final exam. Several RHS AP teachers have done this in past years, so this is not a complete change from the familiar AP exam and project approach.

However, last year all RHS students were required to attend their final exam period in an AP class, but this year requiring attendance of the AP final exam period is up to the teacher. The teacher get the choice of the form of the project, be it a research paper, a presentation, or an assessment.

So although students are technically “exempt” from the final exam in an AP class, they still may have to take a final exam if the teacher chooses to do so. This might not count as a semester exam, that covers all material learned during the course. It is more likely that the teacher will choose a unit test on a specific topic if he or she decides to give a test. However, it is up to the discretion of the teacher.

Students can only hope that their teachers make reasonable decisions concerning the final exam in their AP classes. Said RHS senior Randall Bailey, who has taken several AP courses, “I think this policy is a great relief for students with a heavy workload because it is not necessary for us to be tested on the same material twice—it only adds more stress.”

This policy will probably affect those students who take the AP Government and Politics. In past years, these students had to take three final exams—the AP subject exam, the Maryland HSA, and the department final exam. If their teacher chooses, these students can now be exempt from the department final and the MCPS Board of Education is currently working on exempting those students from the HAS if they receive a passing score on the AP subject exam.