Fall semester students will wait until May to take AP, FSA exams

The FSA and AP exams will be administered in May for all students in FSA and AP classes, regardless of which semester they’re taking the class in. This is because AP exams are scheduled by the College Board and the state only gives FSA’s once a year.

Assistant Principal Glenn Webb said that the gap for students taking AP or FSA classes this semester might be difficult, but can be managed.

“There are schools that have done it,” he said. “I mean there we’re not the only ones who are on block schedule and there are districts that have been on block schedule all along so they’ve made it work. I can’t predict how well our students are going to do on that simply because our students are doing this in a whole new environment. We’ve got multiple factors that may be affecting the quality of test results including e-learning and the stresses of the pandemic.”

He also provided a resource for AP students to study with.

“Students who are taking AP exams have a resource called AP classroom that they can continue to work in through the spring if they took the course in the fall,” Webb said. “They can continue to stay fresh on some of that content, but that would be in addition to the school work that they’re doing for their four classes that they’re taking in the spring.”

Webb said that overall he’s confident in West Shore’s AP and FSA students.

“It’s unfortunate that some kids will be fresher than others but that’s not something that we have any control over,” Webb said. “I think just any support that the district has for students in that situation it’s going to require work for those students outside of the class in order to stay fresh if they want to. For our kids I’m really not too concerned there. They’re finding great success right now and that doesn’t just disappear overnight, they might just need a little bit of refresher right beforehand.”

By Erin Kohler