Advanced Placement (AP) exams are usually associated with quiet rooms with a few coughs, strict timing and sometimes dead iPads. But on this campus, the testing season has taken on a slight unconventional path, incorporating bananas, formalwear and even a gazelle.
More than 4,700 AP exams are being administered this year, making it one of the largest testing periods the school has handled.
“[AP’s] are always moving and changing, so being flexible with those parts is what makes organizing them challenging,” counselor Catherine Broderick said.
Behind the scenes, coordination between counselors and AP teachers has been essential to keep the process running on schedule.
“We work closely together on the supplies we need for each test, and I’m working with outside substitutes, so it’s definitely a lot of people,” Broderick said.
While the logistics of administering an AP exam is significant, Westlake has also developed unique traditions that add to students’ testing experience.
In the Physics hallways, students have maintained what they refer to as a “banana shrine,” where bananas are hung or arranged in the days leading up to the test.
“We hang bananas up in the room, then at the very end of the year we sacrifice them,” AP Physics 1 and 2 teacher Andria Chaney said. “It then gets placed on the physics wall, where there are formulas so kids can come and read them and make honors.”
The display has become a notable part of the classroom environment. A gazelle figure has also become a part of the scene, often included in the setup during review sessions.
“I always feel like having context and reference points to help connect the dots when you revisit a problem, and we use gazelles as a figure for many of them, ” Chaney said. “It may sound silly that it’s a gazelle but then I remember that it refers to a specific type of problem, so it helps connect the dots and it just makes it fun.”
On exam days, some students add their own variation by arriving in formal attire. Suits, ties and dress shoes have become a common sight outside testing rooms, giving the impression of a formal event rather than a multi-hour exam.
“In the Physics C group, the tests are called performances so they show up like it’s a game day, similar to a choir concert,” Chaney said.
While these traditions are student-driven and not officially organized, they have become consistent features of the AP experience.
“It’s just a test, don’t put too much pressure on this test as the best thing it would give is college credit,” Broderick said. “I think you just show up as your best self and take the test.”
