In high schools all around America, students are given the option to take Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Every May, there is a two-week period when all AP exams take place. These exams give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and potentially earn college credit.
As the AP exam season approaches, some students who initially signed up decide that they no longer want the pressure and stress of the exams.

With AP exams taking place from May 4-8 and May 11-15, and the deadline is closing in, students can opt out of the AP tests anytime from the beginning of the year up to two weeks before the exam. The only requirement to opt out of the AP exam is a $40 fee for the unused test.

Some may wonder why you would take an AP class with the rigorous coursework to not take the test to get official credit for it. After talking to student Aliana Garcia, Class of 2026, a student who took AP Government but did not take the AP exam, her reasoning was “there was too much pressure with taking other AP exams” and when asked why she still took the class said ” I had it with a lot of people I knew and thought it was good information to have.”

Because AP exams are offered across so many subjects and grade levels, there are many reasons why students are unable or unwilling to take them.

Additionally, several students opted out of AP testing last academic year. In an interview with Coronado’s testing coordinator, Mrs. Valerie Wetta, when asked about the most common reasons she sees students not taking the exam, she stated that at the beginning of the year, it’s the pressure; in the middle of the year, it’s the student not doing well in the class; and at the end of the year, it’s typically conflicts.

Although the testing coordinators try their best to have students take their exams on make-up days when there is a conflict, it is sometimes not possible.

At Coronado, there are 649 exams scheduled to be taken this May, involving 358 individual students. There are more exams than students because many who face the challenge of the AP curriculum often take multiple classes in the same academic year.

Within the 358 students signed up for classes, there are three confirmed students who will not take the AP exams. Although only three students at Coronado have opted out so far, there is still plenty of time for conflicts to arise.

Yearly, Mrs. Wetta records anywhere from 15 to 30 students opting out in the last few weeks before the test.

Overall, despite the challenging curriculum and the stress of having one test determine whether or not you get college credit, this year has one of the lowest numbers of students not taking their AP exams.