As the AP (Advanced Placements) exams approached, NIS high school teachers organized a series of AP mock exams in late April and early May to help students prepare for the real tests. Those exams were held across both weekends and school days, distributed from April 25th to May 1st, which covered multiple subjects, including AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Computer Science A, and AP Language. The main participants of the exams are Grade 11 and Grade 12 students, also with some 10th graders. By simulating the real tests, NIS teachers successfully gave students a clearer understanding of the test format and expectations of the upcoming exams.
Since the Songkran holiday had just ended, there were only about two weeks between the school starts and the AP exam weeks, which caused all the mock exams to be scheduled tightly during the week. For most of the exams, they were held within the week before the real tests, taking place during both class time and the weekends. In such a tense atmosphere, facing the huge challenge of time limitations, students and teachers all pay significant efforts to ensure the real tests will be held successfully.
Although most students were taking two or three AP courses this year, which requires them to manage the stress of taking multiple mock exams in the same week, they still said that they felt some relief after finishing the mock exams. Because most of them believe that the mock exams have helped them to understand the test format, and identify their weaknesses. At the same time, since the mock exams were held very similar to the real tests, most students also think that it made them feel more confident about the upcoming tests.
While the mock exams have a positive impact in general, some students also leave some suggestions for improvement. Some of them think that instead of being held on weekends, the mock exams should be organized during normal school days, which allows them to take more time on reviewing the AP tests personally. There are also some students who are concerned about putting mock exam grades into PowerSchool, which exerts additional pressure on them. They suggest that mock exams should be more like a practice rather than a formal test.
Beyond the intense mock exam week, there were also some relaxing moments. Last year, after the AP Calculus mock exam, Mr.Zhang ordered pizza for students, and this year, on April 25th, after the morning AP Chemistry mock exam, Mr.Colin also ordered the same pizza for the students. For many students, this has become a NIS school tradition during the AP mock exam week. After taking a 3-hour test, the warm pizza offered a short break for the students before preparing the next mock exam in the afternoon. These warm moments, together with academic challenges, made up the NIS AP mock exam week.
Overall, by the huge efforts from both NIS high school teachers and students, the AP mock exams successfully provided students with a valuable opportunity to simulate the real test conditions, and understand their weaknesses better.