Wednesday, August 31, 2011 By Sabrina Wilson [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising Rise in AP Tests: The Competition for College     As our high school careers flash by before our eyes, the idea of real life starts to set in and we are all faced with the question of what we are going to do with our lives.      Who do you want to be when you grow up? What kind of life do you want to have? As these decisions are rapidly approaching, we are faced with another question, one that will influence the rest of our lives: Where do you want to go to college? For many, taking AP courses is part of building that dream.     Colleges are becoming more and more competitive due to budget cuts and our bad economy. The stress just to get into a good college is major and everyone is attempting to fill their applications with extracurriculars, community service, and above all good grades. AP classes have had a major spike in recent years. Students are rushing to take college-level courses to ensure they have a successful future.      Just last year, Rocklin improved their AP scores by 33.7 percent. Pressure from parents, teachers, and peers to take AP tests is intense and possibly the reason for the impressive rise in all things AP. The number of students doing well on AP tests has risen 41 percent since 2005. As well as 80 percent more students receiving 5’s and 58.2% scoring well enough to earn college credit, which is 56.1 percent higher then 2005.     Rocklin alone had 1,282 AP tests taken with 937 passed for college credit. That is a total of 79.6% of our students that earned with a 3 or higher.      The number of AP tests being taken this year is not set in stone. Many students are still dropping and adding classes to their schedule. However, if our competitive attitudes continue to rise, the number of AP tests will be even higher. Our competitive nature is taking over our schedules, our lives, and the world of AP.

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