It’s that time of the year again! Despite all the hurdles that students have experienced this year, AP and IB exams are still going on relatively normal. You might hear the same stereotypical study tips each year— sleep, eat a good breakfast, wear comfortable clothes— but I went around and asked teachers what they thought were truly the best study tips, and which ones fall short.
Chen – IB Biology:
Do you think your students are ready for the exam?
“We’re reviewing content right now … and I was pleasantly surprised with the review today on how much content they retained, so I am fairly confident that they will be prepared by the end of the review sessions.
What tips do you have for students studying for the exam?
“[Students] have been practicing all year about deconstructing questions … A lot of preparing for the test is not just content, but also knowing the structure of how the questions of formatting”
When it comes to studying, do you believe in quality or quantity?
“I believe in quality of studying. If [students] are able to know 50-60% of the content very well, they’ll do fine– rather than perusing over every topic and knowing it at a 30% level”
Stutzman – AP Calculus BC:
Do you think your students are ready for the exam?
“They’ll be okay, but they’re not as well prepared as a normal year.”
When it comes to studying, do you believe in quality or quantity?
“I believe in doing a little bit every day instead of doing it all the night before.”
What tips do you have for students studying for the exam?
“I will give them some study material going over one topic at a time instead of a sample of everything. I want students to get one topic down at a time.”
Decker – IB Business Management:
Do you think your students are ready for the exam?
“I think overall they’ve got a really strong background in the information they need … I think as a relatively new IB teacher, I think one of the things I possibly struggle with is how to answer questions in the IB format, so we are working on that now.”
When it comes to studying, do you believe in quality or quantity?
“Quality. I don’t think that going back over everything that you have studied over the past year will be in your best interest.”
What tips do you have for students studying for the exam?
“Sleep is such an important part, and eating is such an important part. But you should also think about what is important for the day of the test, and then breaking that out over weeks instead of nights … In the case of IB Business Management, we have a case study that we read and pull out topics that we’ve dealt with throughout the year. So going back and reviewing in a quality way, looking at the points that are most likely to be on the test is probably in your best interest.”
What is the most common misconception about studying that you see?
“Cramming and long nights is not in your best interest. They are going to do better if they break out their studying over many nights in small chunks.”
Shew – AP Spanish:
Do you think your students are ready for the exam?
“Historically, I would say extremely prepared. This year, I still have a little bit of work to do because I haven’t seen them as often. I would say mostly prepared.”
When it comes to studying, do you believe in quality or quantity?
“I do believe in quality over quantity. My mantra is ‘less is more’. I think that if you focus on the important things, then you’ll be prepared.”
What tips do you have for students studying for the exam?
“I’ve given them a practice book, so I advise them to go through and read each section and what to expect for each section. I think that as long as they understand the format at what’s expected of them, they will be fine.”
What is the most common misconception about studying that you see?
“One misconception is that [students] don’t think they actually need to study. They go in thinking they know what to do, but with the AP test you need to understand the format.”
Fisher – IB Language and Literature:
Do you think your students are ready for the exam?
“I think they’re very prepared. They’ve told me multiple times that they feel ready to test and don’t want to do anymore practice papers.”
When it comes to studying, do you believe in quality or quantity?
“Probably quality. But with IB Lang/Lit, it’s writing so they just have to write over and over again.”
What tips do you have for students studying for the exam?
“You can’t really study for it, it’s all about practice writing, and so they should look over the things that they wrote, they should read my feedback, and practice some opening paragraphs.”
What is the most common misconception about studying that you see?
“The idea that [students] can wait till the very end and cram it all in and be prepared, when really you’re building off of skills that you should be working on for the past two years to be able to get the best score that you can.”
The general verdict? Many of the teachers I interviewed emphasized that when it comes to AP and IB exams, understanding the format of the test is as important as understanding the content. In addition, all the teachers emphasized quality over quantity. Instead of spending hours and hours pouring over notes, you should complete practice tests and break work into chunks.
