During the fourth quarter, Dulaney High School (DHS) students begin preparing for exams and finals. Social studies teacher, Daniel LaHatte, and English teacher, Jason Bowman, provide input on how to be successful for these tests.

Many students procrastinate reviewing for their exams until a couple of weeks– or days –beforehand. From experience as a prior student at DHS and now a teacher, LaHatte advises against this.

“Start early, parsing out the time in a manageable way. No sitting down and saying ‘I’m going to study for 4 hours’. It’s not healthy and it’s also not going to happen,” says LaHatte.

Pacing oneself during an exam and while studying is crucial. Bowman explains review practices done in the past to help students better pace themselves during advanced placement (AP) English exams. 

“We would give them practice actually writing the free response questions in order, because I think it’s important to understand how strenuous, you know, an exam like that is. And actually having that experience of actually pacing yourself through it is important,” says Bowman.

While not all students will take an AP English exam, taking a practice test in the time given for an exam can be helpful preparation for any subject.

Both teachers suggest reviewing using a variety of methods– such as completing practice questions or working on annotation skills –to truly understand and practice the content. 

LaHatte explains that there is one key part of preparation for any test.

“Sleep. Everybody needs their rest… Get to rest and make sure it is true rest. It’s not scrolling on your phone until two or three in the morning. It’s not responding to things. Get to bed early, rest, and then wake up early,” says LaHatte.

Students should try to remain calm when preparing for exams. AP exams are currently underway and final exams will take place the last two weeks of school in June.

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