AP Exams Resources at KPL

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, many high school students find themselves facing an additional deadline: the AP exams. AP - Advanced Placement - exams occur at the start of May each year, and can be extremely beneficial for college admissions. Whether you’re curious about what the AP exams entail or trying to find resources to help you with test prep, KPL has the scoop on AP. 

Takis and Test Prep

Yes, you read that right! Come to the Southwest Library on the Sunday before exams - that’s Sunday, May 5th, 2024 from 12 pm-4 pm - to study in the Teen Space. Teen Librarian Megan will be hanging out to help with study strategies, grab exam books, and fuel your body and mind with Takis. 

Study Tips

1. Make a schedule. If you are taking multiple exams, it’s important to prioritize your study time while making sure that you don’t neglect any of your exams. Spacing out your studying also helps you retain the information. Working from a schedule can help you to stay on task and to cover all of your study topics. 
2. Review your old class resources. Going over notes, past assignments, and old tests from your AP courses is a great way to refresh your memory of the material. 
3. Ask your teacher or AP exam coordinator for resources. They likely have practice tests, study guides, and more which will help you prepare for your exam. 
4. Take practice tests. The AP exams are a different style of test than your standard classroom exam. Taking practice tests will help familiarize yourself with the way the exams will be laid out, help you know what to expect from your test questions, and help ease test anxiety. Testing yourself is also better than just rereading your notes, so it’s good to do both. 
5. Check out some free resources below. There are many resources available to study for the AP exams, some free, some paid. We have listed a few free options below, as well as options you can access with your library card!

Study Guides and Books

KPL has the core AP guidebooks available for checkout. You can place holds on the books which you need, or check the YA collection at your branch to see what books are available off the shelf. 

We also have flashcards available to check-

out for some subjects.

If you want a fun way to boost your concentration and problem-solving skills, check out a Launchpad! We have many to choose from, ranging from ones for kids to brain-boosting ones for adults and teens. Playing memory or creative problem-solving games is a great way to keep your mind limber. 

Learning Express Hub - Through KPL’s digital library, you have access to Learning Express Hub. This site offers various study and exam preparation resources. They have a page dedicated to preparing for the AP exams. This includes eBooks, practice tests, day-of prep, and more. 

Khan Academy offers a wide range of AP courses available to study from. The courses provide in-depth information on many units and even offer exam examples and study strategies in the final units. These courses are a great supplementary tool to your AP courses and provide another way to learn the material. 

College Board also offers digital resources such as study guides, practice tests, and other support materials. Utilizing everything that the College Board has to offer in terms of practice tests and study guides is a great way to prepare for the exams. They have exam tips for each subject which help you to know what to expect during the exam and how you can study most effectively. 

The Advanced Placement YouTube channel has a wide range of videos including archives of practice sessions, example test questions, and guided solutions to examples. 

With the AP app or AP Classroom online, you can access free AP Daily videos which provide tips, practice questions, and more.  

Before the Exam

• Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before the exam. Sleep helps you to learn and problem-solve. I know this can be especially hard when you’re stressed, but being well-rested is very important before major exams and while studying. 
• Brain-boosting foods may help with concentration — try eating fruits, dark chocolate, nuts, eggs, and healthy fats like avocado or fish. 
• Eat a good breakfast, and lunch if you have an afternoon exam. Being hungry won’t make the test any easier. Keeping your body and mind fueled for the exam ahead will help! 
• Stay hydrated. Hydration is important for your brain performance. Staying hydrated before and during the exam will help you focus. Drinking water and staying hydrated can also help you stay calm and concentrated.

Exam Day Tips

1. Time management — Remember how long the exam is, how many breaks you will be given, and how much time you have. If a question is giving you trouble, circle back to it; you don’t want to waste twenty minutes on one question and limit your time for the rest of the exam. 
2. Read the whole question carefully. It’s important to read the entire question; there may be tricky language that changes what the answer is. Read questions thoroughly and use wording or keywords to guide your thinking. 
3. Just because an answer seems obvious, doesn’t mean it is. Carefully think about each question before answering. 
4. For multiple-choice questions, use the process of elimination to eliminate answers that you know for sure are wrong. This will make it easier to pick out the right answer. 
5. For exams with blocks of text, such as AP English or History, read carefully, annotate, and outline as needed. Making a quick outline of an essay answer will help ensure that you meet all the requirements and make all the points you want to make. Annotating texts will also help you to quickly reference important information. 
6. For free response questions, take your time. Rushing through and leaving an incomplete answer will hurt your scores in the long run. Take your time and formulate a complete, well-thought-out response.
7. Show your work — Graders are looking for the correct answer as well as your thought process. Being thorough and explaining why something is correct is important. This matters for all questions whether they be math equations, science problems, or long free-write questions. 
8. Double-check your answers. Check for grammar and spelling errors, computational errors, and anything else that you might have missed in a question. 
9. Don’t leave anything blank. AP does not penalize you for wrong answers, so it is in your best interest to answer every question even if you don’t know the answer for certain. Putting something down is better than nothing!
10. Have confidence in yourself and good luck!