Exam season is right around the corner. Classes are concluding, and the year’s stress is finally ramping up before it is over. While midterm week is often a challenging one, the final month/month and a half of school is an entirely different beast. With AP exams, STAMPS testing, final exams, and SC state required End of Course exams, the last stretch of the year is definitely challenging.

Freshman year was the first time I had experienced a finals season like the ones at Magnet. It is by far the most chaotic time of the year, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. It is always good to keep in mind that after all of these exams, regardless of how they go, summer break is right around the corner.

One of the first major standardized exams to mark the end of the year is STAMP testing. This part of the testing season is super useful, though many students take it for granted. The STAMP test is the standardized test for foreign languages. This allows students to achieve seals of biliteracy and potentially earn college credit. This test is not only used in high school, but also as a placement exam for incoming college students to place them in a challenging, but doable foreign language class. These consist of speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Each section provides a score and then a composite (averaged) score of the four sections is also released as an overall assessment of one’s foreign language abilities. This year, STAMP testing is starting the week after spring break. Definitely try your best on this exam, as you would with any other exam. One of the hardest parts of the STAMP testing is by far the speaking section as it can be challenging to come up with complete responses on the spot.

AP Exams are another crucial part of exam season. For every AP course (except for AP Capstone Research), an AP exam is required to gain college credit. These exams are definitely not always the simplest and require much preparation. These exams typically consist of both a multiple choice section and a writing section. Whether this be a free response question (FRQ), document based question (DBQ), long essay question (LEQ) or a short answer question (SAQ), most of the exams require some form of writing. AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest score and 1 being the lowest. Any score equal to or above a 3 is considered passing and can be used for college credit. However, it is important to note that many schools only accept 4s or 5s and only certain exams. These exams are definitely crucial to prepare for, though, because it does not make sense to spend the whole year working toward this exam to not gain the credit. Many AP exams have moved to a digital form in recent years, while some are only on paper, and some are a hybrid. AP exams take place during the first two weeks of May and usually take a couple of hours to complete.

Next, SC required End of Course Exams. These exams are usually not the most challenging for Magnet students because the teachers do such an amazing job at helping students prepare throughout the entire year. There are exams in Biology, English One/Two, and United States History. Students take the Biology exam at the end of ninth grade, English exam at the end of Sophomore year (covers both English One and Two), and the US History exam at the end of Junior year. These exams are on the computer, similarly to the STAMP test. These are state mandated and often do not cover the entire extent or depth of the Honors or AP versions of these respective classes at Academic Magnet. The most important thing to know for these is to understand the basic concepts. The Biology and US History exams are both multiple choice with a handful of matching questions (if I remember correctly), while the English exam covers multiple choice questions in addition to an essay response question. The state EOC scores do take up 20% of the final course grade. So, in these courses, the state-mandated EOC takes the place of the course’s final exam.

Finally, at the end of the year are final exams. These can definitely be stressful, but it is so nice after they are completed. Taking place (usually) during the last few weeks of the school year, final exams conclude the entire year. These count for 20% of the course’s final grade. When put into perspective, it may seem like a lot that these exams take up a whole quarter’s worth of grades, so definitely prepare for these. Many classes do not have traditional final exams, as many have projects or assignments to take their place, but the ones that do can be brutal. It is crucial to study for these because it would be such a bummer to lose an A or a B in the final days of the school year simply because of a lack of motivation. Though balancing the conclusion of Magnet classes with the exam schedule may seem difficult, it is essential to persevere for a few more weeks until summer. Magnet finals week is not for the faint of heart, but the weekend after the Friday of finals week is by far one of the best feelings at Magnet.

Here are a few extra tips to help navigate the final few weeks of this school year. Try to save your absences. During the final weeks of school, students can opt out of certain days depending on their attendance from the year, so while it may seem easier to bail now and take a few days off, save it to start your summer early! Next, make a schedule of what to study when because there is so much work to complete in such a time constraint, so organization is key here. Finally, just remember that summer is right around the corner, and while it may be stressful for the next few weeks, a long break is super close. Good luck with your exam season, Raptors!