As our neighborhood begins to enjoy the warm weather, TCA also enters its Regents and Advanced Placement testing season. This time of year brings a variety of emotions to students here at TCA. During testing season students who are in any AP classes take their college level AP tests, while students who take core classes take their mock (practice) regents and normal regents exams. The stakes are high for students because Regents exams are required to earn a diploma. And while AP exams are not required to graduate, they are extremely challenging and can give students a sense of what college will be like. Whether or not the majority of students are stressed, one thing is for certain: TCA has to lock in this testing season! I spoke with some students and some teachers to see their opinions on testing season, where is what they had to say.
I sat down with AP student Hendry Gutierrez and we spoke about AP tests and how he feels about it.
TCA Heights: What grade are you in?
Hendry: I am a senior
TCA Heights: Do you take any AP classes?
Hendry: I take AP Biology, AP Precalculus and AP English (Literature).
TCA Heights: Were the AP Classes difficult?
Hendry: These classes were a little bit difficult because I have to learn a lot of stuff like learning different skills, how to write essays, how to write other paragraphs.
TCA Heights: Have you taken any AP Mock exams?
Hendry: I have taken a mock exam, but only one. It was really hard and it was the AP Precalculus one. Because in the first test I Failed. In the AP test I took yesterday, I think I did well and could pass it.
I also sat down with TCA student, Aneury Francisco and interviewed him on the regents and his opinions about them.
TCA Heights: What grade are you in?
Anuery: I’m in tenth grade.
TCA Heights: Do you take any AP classes?
Anuery: No I don’t.
TCA Heights: With regents exams next month, how do you prepare?
Anuery: By studying.
TCA Heights: Do you struggle with regents prep?
Anuery: No not for real man.
TCA Heights: How many mock regents have you taken?
Anuery: Two.
TCA Heights: Have you taken any regents before?
Anuery: Yes.
TCA Heights: How do you think those tests are going to compare to the regents you’re going to take now.
Anuery: The regents now are going to be a little harder.
Finally, I sat down with TCA AP 11th grade and 10th grade English teacher Mr.Merced and got his opinion about testing season and how he believes his students are going to do.
TCA Heights: How confident do you feel about your students passing the test?
Merced: I feel like they are going to face a unique challenge that I have been trying to set them up for since the beginning of the year. The challenge in this 10th grade class is that it has been a really large class with so many kids and at the same time there wasn’t many kids in the AP class as there should’ve been. At the same time AP language is a class that is really good when discussed in smaller numbers so you know I want everyone to be successful but sometimes when you got a lot of kids and when you got stuff that is supposed to be taken care of by this age, like behavior problems, then it becomes very hard because AP language is just one of the hardest tests. Out of all the AP’s, it’s brutal.
With those voices and opinions, it is very obvious that TCA’s students are more than prepared for testing seasons; with determined students and engaged teachers to make sure of their students passing, TCA should have no issue with testing seasons. Students don’t seem so stressed or worried and teachers have little concerns but are overall hopeful. If you are going to take a test soon make sure you study hard and you stay studious. If you need any extra help in subjects for regents/AP then consider coming after school for tutoring and get the help that you need.
To get ready for this year’s exams, talk to your teacher or come to after school tutoring.
