Stressed About Upcoming AP Tests? Here’s How Not to Fail

Get a Good Night’s Sleep the Night Before the Test Cramming the night before the exam is highly ineffective. By this point, you either know the material or you don’t. Pulling an all-nighter with hopes of scoring a five is not beneficial. Not only will your cognitive function be lower during the exam the following day, but arguably, skipping the typical eight hours of sleep can cost you thousands on your tuition as less sleep equals lower scores.
Eat Something – Anything Although I typically fall under the party that solely lives and thrives off of coffee for breakfast, on testing mornings, it is crucial to eat prior to the exam. Not only will this fuel your body, but your brain will also be more awake and prepared for the test.
Familiar Tastes = Familiar Knowledge Not only does chewing gum promote relaxation as eating stops unwanted “fight or flight” adrenaline rushes, but chewing the same flavor of gum as the one consumed whilst learning in class increases the odds of recalling the information. By associating a flavor to specific information, the familiarity enables more recollection. For me, I suck on orange Tic-Tacs for history, and chew mint gum for English, so I know not to confuse the two subjects.
Look over Notes Strategically A tip I’ve found effective is to go through a chunk of your notes a little every day leading up to the test. As I go through my notes, I also highlight key words or phrases to keep my reading interactive and involved. The highlighting technique also helps when I want to skim through notes at the last second as my eye is drawn mostly to the importantly highlighted portions of the notes.
Prepare the Night Before Pack a small bag the night before so you don’t have to fret the prep process in the morning. Some things I like to bring are pens, pencils, water. It doesn’t have to be crazy and convoluted, but preparing ahead eases the mind the night before.
Process of Elimination is your Bae Since AP tests have multiple correct answer choices, it is crucial that process of elimination is applied throughout the exam. This will allow you to narrow your choices and find the answer that best fits the question.
Annotate Yourself to Victory This keeps reading interactive and involved with the text when the monotonous sleepiness of the test starts to set in.
Don’t Skim your Way to Failure At the beginning of the year, I always worried about the time constraints and rushed my way to failure. Instead, actually read the information provided and avoid cutting corners when attempting to comprehend the material. It is better to go slower and get more right than to rush through and get more questions wrong based on silly mistakes.
Bubble Consistently I bubble around once every page, or three to five questions. This gives my mind a break every five minutes or so as the bubbling boredom breaks up the critical thinking. Think of it like HIIT training. The bubbling portion acts as a testing breather.
Watches Save Lives I discovered this when I took my SAT, but I realized watches are life. If you have a simple Timex (note: not an Apple watch or anything else computerized) you aren’t at the mercy of the test administrator to update the time for you. You get the advantage of managing your time continuously.
Caffeinate! But don’t get more than your usual caffeine intake. This can give you the jitters and increase testing anxiety.
Polish your Memory Studies show that seeing the color red as you study will help you recall information while you’re testing. Painting your nails red or wearing a red shirt, for example, will allow you to avoid memory blanks throughout the test.
Be Alert and Ready to Attack On testing mornings, I like to wake up 30 minutes earlier, so I avoid feeling rushed and unprepared. This eases my worries while also giving my body a chance to wake up effectively. The “I’m so tired; I couldn’t focus” excuse is invalid with this strategy as waking up ensures time to properly become aware, awake, and alive again.

WHS GrassBurr

WHS GrassBurr

WHS GrassBurr

Stressed About Upcoming AP Tests? Here’s How Not to Fail