MTHS’ Misguided Policy

To the Editor: 
As a recent graduate of Middle Township High School (MTHS), I was dismayed when I learned that the administration is changing their policies for Advanced Placement testing. In recent years, students taking an AP test were excused from class for the entire day, whether or not that class was before or after their test, as some tests are in the morning while some are in the afternoon. 
The new policy adopted by MTHS is to force students to go to class before and after their tests. I hope to illustrate why this is a misguided policy by sharing my own experience.
In my junior and senior years of high school, I took seven AP courses, in subjects from computer science to politics. I received college credit for all seven AP tests I took, which is now allowing me to graduate from the George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of the traditional four. The year I am taking off my college education is saving me around $65,000, a huge help in costs for my lower-middle class family.
It’s quite evident that AP tests are not only important but extremely crucial in providing students an avenue for pursuing an affordable college education. With the tests looming less than two months away, most AP teachers are probably trying to finish their curriculum in time for May, taking all possible measures to prepare their students for the exams. The grueling exams are usually three to four hours long, involve vigorous writing portions, and test your recall for a year’s worth of high-level information and concepts. In short, they’re pretty hard and exhausting. This creates an environment of stress; for AP students, the entire month of May is spent in a constant state of worry and studying, juggling activities, clubs, sports, homework, and free time with the fact that three or four tests could decide whether or not you can afford to go to college.
That being said, students must be in an optimal physical and mental state to succeed on the day of the test. I can attest that being able to sleep in on the day of an afternoon test was a blessing. Scientific studies have proven repeatedly that waking up at normal school time, usually, before 7 a.m., is detrimental to a student’s ability to learn and remember information. A student should get the fullest sleep possible when preparing for such an important test, and utilizing the extra time in the morning to freshen up on vocabulary or formulas, which is more helpful than one might think.
Being in class the hours before or after the test just doesn’t make sense. Why try to force an unrelated subject into the head of a student when they need 100 percent of their focus on the subject they’re being tested on? It doesn’t make sense to force a student to learn an hour’s worth of algebra when they’re about to take a four-hour test on history. Additionally, students who have just taken a rigorous test are in no condition to try and learn more; the information thrown at them will be lost anyway.
During the regular school year, every class should be valued equally by a high school. But during AP testing, regular classes need to take a backseat. This policy will make it harder for students to succeed on the tests and therefore afford to go to college.