It might seem difficult or even impossible to get a perfect score on a final exam in a class as challenging as AP Biology. But somehow, an unusually high number of this year’s students did just that.

They were able to do so by memorizing test questions from a practice test they took online. Yes, the AP Biology curriculum builders chose to make the final exam an exact replica of an online test — this was a failure on the staff’s part.    

To accurately assess students’ knowledge, teachers must administer an exam that cannot be found, memorized and reviewed online prior to the exam.

AP classes are intended to prepare enrolled students for the nationwide AP test taken in May, and due to the schedule of the test, teachers must administer a second semester final similar to the actual AP exam, but prior to the scheduled date of the AP test. Teachers usually use a test from an archive of previous years’ tests. 

In order for students to be well-prepared, teachers often recommend taking multiple practice AP tests either by purchasing AP practice books or taking tests online.

The students of this year’s AP Biology class listened to the advice. Third period, the first class to take the final, realized the final exam was an exact copy of the most recently released online practice test they had studied with.

The word spread. By the next day the final exam was administered, many students knew exactly which test would would appear before them.

The administration eventually found out and decided not to include the scores from the portion of the test identical to the online version in the grade book.

Denae Nurnberg, the assistant principal in charge of student activities and AP testing, spoke with each AP Biology class period informing them of the administration’s disappointment in regard to students’ actions.

On May 2, both Nurnberg and interim AP biology teacher Lawrence Laskowski lectured each period about academic dishonesty. In these lectures, the staff criticized students for failing to prepare themselves by memorizing answers to the final.

The administration should focus less on critiquing students and instead focus more on how students’ knowledge was being assessed, a responsibility both teachers and staff hold.

If students are recommended to take practice tests online, there can be no complaints that the students typed “AP Bio practice test” into Google and took the first test they found, nor that students scored high on the final exam.

The only people complaining should be the students.

Teachers should be giving students an opportunity to succeed through assessments that test knowledge. As an easily accessible online practice test, the final exam did not give students an indication of their preparedness.

Yes, students who memorized answers for the sole purpose of boosting their grade cheated themselves of an opportunity to test their knowledge, but they cannot be the only ones blamed. Questions available for student use online should not have been used in the first place.

According to College Board, the website provides “complete AP exams available to teachers, but inaccessible to students.”

Had the teacher chosen one of these tests, all of this trouble would have been prevented.

It is one course of action to criticize this year’s students for borderline academic dishonesty, but it is a much wiser solution for the administration to admit their mistakes and to reform the final exam for next year.  

This year’s AP Biology final exam was a waste of time, paper and opportunity for preparing students for the AP test the following week. Let’s just hope next year’s students — and staff — are better prepared.  

 

When students cast their ballots for next year’s representatives, they play a major role in deciding how the school will be run.

The same concern has comes up every year and is never been addressed by administration: why aren’t the election results displayed?

Yes, the winners are announced through a sheet of paper hung on the ASB office door. But by what margins did they win? How many total votes were cast? How many people really voted for unopposed candidates?

All of these questions deserved to be answered on that same paper.

Unlike homecoming court, any student can choose to run for class office and ASB positions, with the exception of president and vice president (these positions require a year of experience).
The homecoming king and queen victory margin is irrelevant because it is an honor to be nominated, but voters deserve to know the election results for the next school leaders.

By making a conscious decision to compete for a leadership position, these students are accepting the burden of campaigning for themselves and the possibility that they will be defeated.
The school inadequately prepares students for the real world when they decline disclosing election results due to concern for candidates’ feelings rather than allowing a transparent voting procedure.

Students running for office must be prepared to lead the school if they win and respect the student body’s choice if they lose. If potential candidates are not prepared to handle the outcomes of transparent elections, they should not run in the first place.

It’s not just the class officers who deserve to know how many votes they earned. The student body deserves to know the margins of victory or defeat of their candidates.

The Epitaph conducted a school-wide survey in which almost 68 percent of students voiced their opinion to see the numerical election outcomes.

The Epitaph chooses to disclose the exact results from all surveys conducted as proof of fairness and equal opportunity.

People have accused the student elections of being rigged, or the administration of tipping the scale. While The Epitaph cannot verify these claims, providing transparent election results would reassure the student body.

Implementing such transparency would be simple, thanks to the digital voting software used for elections. A simple “file, print” should do the trick.

For the sake of our school’s democratic values and for the promotion of student-administration cooperation, the Editorial Board respectfully request the voting percentage results of each ASB candidate and class officer candidate.