The month of April leads Dreyfoos into testing season, and as students get ready for summer, they must prepare for End-of-Course exams (EOCs), the Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs), and Advanced Placement (AP) testing, with the addition of AICE exams, and of course, class final exams. This past week, the Geometry and Algebra II EOCs were completed by students. Starting the week of April 24, freshmen and sophomores will take the reading FSA, and the final math EOC, Algebra I, will be administered.

“This quarter has been the most stressful one of the year because of various standardized test and the approach of final exams,” digital media sophomore Shelby Rabin said.  

The EOCs are a series of end-of-course exams (in biology, United States history, Algebra I, Algebra II, and geometry) that every Florida public school student must take in order to graduate. Recently, the Palm Beach County School District announced that students only have to take three math EOCs to graduate. Once students have passed the Algebra II examination, they no longer have to partake in math EOCs.

AP exams are designated for Dreyfoos students taking advanced placement courses. These courses can count for college credit and are weighted more heavily in students’ Honors Point Averages (HPAs). Almost all Dreyfoos freshmen are placed in AP Human Geography, and it is their choice if they want to continue to take AP classes throughout the rest of their time in high school.

The FSA is a state standardized test in reading and writing. A school’s rank is determined by how its students perform compared with other state schools. With the addition of AICE classes, students have to prepare for more tests than ever before.

“Along with taking AP exams in a couple of my classes, I also have to take finals in all my classes, including those classes I already have an AP exam in,” dance junior Carmen Garcia said. “Prepping for all of these finals at once has been stressful because I have more than one in some classes, and they are all really close together.”