College Board makes changes to AP Physics exam
For many juniors on campus, Wednesday will be a double-header testing day as the U.S. History STAAR exam begins at 9 a.m., and the AP Physics 1 test begins at 12 p.m. “I think having both tests on the same day will be a challenge for sure,” U.S. History teacher Allen Harris said. “But when students get to college that is not an uncommon thing. Students get a preview of what taking exams in college is like and how to manage their studying.”
March 22, 2021
The AP Physics 1 exam will look a little different for students this year as it will no longer cover material from units 8-10
“College Board made this change so that AP Physics 1 looks more like a typical freshman physics college course which just focuses on mechanics,” AP physics one teacher Christine Rittenhouse said. “Units eight through ten include electrical forces, electrical circuits, and waves. This material is covered in AP physics two and it’s not something you wouldn’t cover in the first semester of a college physics course.”
The exam changes have created more review time for students.
“I’m quite glad they removed units, as it relieves stress, and now we have more time to focus on units we didn’t do well in, or we just need to review,” junior Thomas Sickos said via text. “In my class we did 3 days of added FRQ practice, which most of my class was struggling with.”
Most students believe that the College Board’s decision will have a positive impact.
“The removal of the last three units from the AP exam means we don’t have to cover them in class and since we went through the first five units before the change, we are only left with two units to cover,” sophomore Andrey Pridgen said via text. “This has caused our class to be a lot more relaxed. We’ve been going through the last two units at a slower pace than the first five and we have a lot more time to do things such as ask lots of questions.”
