The highest possible score on the SAT is 2400. A five is the maximum score on an Advanced Placement test. What are the students at Freedom doing to get their best possible score? As most students begin to enjoy the relaxation of the warmer months, many upperclassmen will be hitting the books in preparation for several tests. SAT Students planning to continue their education past high school know the importance of the SAT. However, their level of concern determined how they prepared: some took preparation classes, some reviewed test structure the night before, and others did nothing. Getting ready for the SAT does not necessarily mean hours of studying. Mr. Bennett says that the best way to prepare for standardized tests is to take challenging classes. Before taking the SAT, junior Alana Hill was not worried about the test. It was only after getting her scores back that she realized she needed to do some preparation. “My mom made me freak out. She told me I wouldn’t be able to get into college with scores like I have. She’s going to make me study.” Hill plans to take the $65 exam again in June after studying a large SAT prep book. “I didn’t take it yet; I’m afraid of what my scores will be,” said junior Samantha Praskovitch. AP Calculus AB All 11 seniors in AP Calculus will be taking this exam on May 5. Mrs. Hastings encourages all of her pupils to take the exam because there have been “more good surprises than bad surprises.” She is confident in their success because, as a reader for the AP exam, she knows exactly what to teach her students. Most of the class won’t be doing much studying outside the requirements of the course. Every night they are assigned a lengthy free response question in addition to book work. Applequist said that she typically spends three to four hours completing each assignment. “They’re starting to feel the crunch,” said Mrs. Hastings, “but they’re not going to cram too much; they’re just going to continue working hard.” “I won’t hardcore study for it because it’s math; it’s stuff that you do all year,” said Marissa Ritorto. After completing the hundreds upon hundreds of math problems, she and the rest of the class probably won’t have to. For their final review, the class will be having a pizza party the night before the exam. AP U.S. History The six juniors and one sophomore taking the AP U.S. History exam will be fighting to beat the odds. The APUSH exam has only a 50 percent pass rate, the lowest of all the AP exams. Sophomore Jimmy Kappas says he is not too worried about the test. “I have been studying for a while now, and I have Dad at home to help me.” The exam covers all of U.S. history, or as Mr. Tinker likes to say, “from Columbus to Clinton.” After the first three nine weeks, junior Mariah McGlothlin filled an entire three-subject notebook with handwritten notes, in addition to some typed pages. “I’m going to try to re-read my notes, but that will probably take three whole days,” she said. There is so much information to cover that, in April, students taking the AP exam began coming in at 7:00 a.m. every morning to get additional notes that would not be covered in class due to time constraints. AP Chemistry This year six students took AP Chemistry with Mr. Saludis. Of them, only Brittany Sturm will be taking the exam. Senior Brad Prinkey said he took the class because he likes chemistry, not because he wanted to take the exam. “What I teach is to prepare for college, not necessarily for the AP exam,” said Mr. Saludis. He believes the test is outdated and is not a reflection of what students truly know. However, he gladly stays after school to help Sturm go over material not covered in class. In all, she will probably put in an extra 40 hours of work in preparation for the AP exam. This test has one of the lowest national pass rates; last year’s was 60 percent. Most students who take Freedom’s AP Chemistry do not take the exam: usually only one or two every year sign up.