Critical note on compliance: If you are one of the 13 students who have yet to submit your Section I scores, do that immediately after reading this sentence.
Toward the End, “The Long Walk”
The AP exam, which packs three essays and 55 multiple-choice questions into about 200 minutes, is closer to a sprint than a marathon; the exam prep, however, is all long-distance running. You can’t cram for this AP. We go slowly and steadily.
Which brings us to the two Section I workshop day scheduled on our calendar. You should use the first one to generate questions and try to solve problems yourselves. Then you can use the time between the first and second workshop to seek my help here, interstitially, through the comment section of this post.
You will have individual needs, and we’ll address those through individual feedback and some test-specific triage. Most concerns, however, are going to overlap with the needs of the group. You’ll see below that particular questions and passages pose more problems. You’ll either be able to offer the explanations we need, be able to prompt the explanations we need, or be able to help by transcribing and posting questions here, on this post.
Note that it will matter down the road which of you got most of the answers correct on this practice test. Down this particular road, you’ll be asked to provide general advice and strategies to your peers. Right now, it’s about each passage and, more specifically, each question. We need to solidify your understanding of what each passage says, how each question works, how each set of answers can be filtered, and ultimately how to arrive at the correct answer.
Let’s start with what you can with the following data, too. You have the right answers, and you’ve had time to sit with the test; now you’ll see a spreadsheet of student performances. The order is randomized.
[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2FSR-MC-Responses-Copy-of-AP-Exam_-2012.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=600px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]
Further Forms Data
That spreadsheet will take focus to unpack. That job may be helped by the data created by Google Forms — data you can access simply by clicking on the right link after submitting your own performance. I prefer the Forms data, so I’ve copied and pasted the statistics for each passage below.
Use this and the spreadsheet PDF to help you determine what to do next. Start with each other, and then send folks to ask specific questions in the comment section below.
[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F03%2F2012-AP-Exam_-32-Students-Reporting.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=600px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]
I know I have a system when I do these kinds of test to get through the questions quickly while also reading the text in full. How can you help others implement a system if they don’t have one.
I think by talking to them about your strategy, they can see other ways of approaching a test like this. I know I sometimes skip questions and go back at the end so that I can read the text more carefully. I also tend to try to get through the questions quickly however I know that sometimes others take their time. If someone is struggling, they can try a different approach and maybe it will help them.
I believe you have to let people find their own system and allow them to try several options because everyone thinks differently. It is also important to not push them in a specific direction just incase that specific system doesn’t work for them. You are aloud to guide them but don’t be pushy.
Knowing the different strategies people do to answer these questions is important because you will be able to see what you like and what you would think would work for you. I have a system when answering these types of tests but learning new ways is helpful because it can show me new ways of looking at the questions.
I agree with this comment because it’s important to realize that there are different approaches to take when taking a test. If you have a hard time taking tests than you might want to change your strategy to something that works better for you and helps your overall performance.
Learning about these strategies and tricks people used in order to take the test is helpful because I found myself juggling between a bunch of different strategies and some of them worked for me better then others. By learning these strategies I can apply some of those aspects to my own text taking skills, which hopefully makes a difference. But I feel like its mostly by trial and error and you have to keep trying new methods to develop a system that works well for the individual.