Love them or hate them, AP Exams are a dominant force at Langley, with over 80% of students taking at least one class with AP credit. Students spend the better part of the school year preparing for their exams, but have almost a month and half of post-exam time to relax. Each teacher has their own method of post-AP enlightenment, ranging from wild parties to enrichment activities, but a number of teachers are left scratching their heads at what to do with an ever summer-hungry class of teenagers.

Part of the problem is Fairfax County’s year-round schedule. While most U.S. schools start their summer as early as late May, Fairfax County lets out during late June. As a result, FCPS students start school later, giving teachers less time to prepare their students for the exam, and an abundance of instruction wasted on restless students. Additionally, a number of electives and non-AP classes are simply proceeding with the class curriculum, or preparing their students for SOLs. Post-AP fever not only distracts students in AP classes, but directly hampers the efforts of non-AP teachers to teach the curriculum of their subject.

A number of classes are given the freedom to celebrate the post-exam period. Mr. Jackson’s Human Geography class (Pictured below) was able to celebrate with ethnic foods and desserts. Mrs. Broad’s English class watched The Great Gatsby, based on the book they had read earlier in the year. Junior physics classes watched Interstellar, and The Incredibles.

However, most classes get back to business within the week of the exam, using the time as an enrichment period, going back through units that may have been skipped, or introducing new material. “Students will take the skills we learn all year various forms and articulate them in a different,” said Mrs. Broad, AP English teacher and co-head of the Saxon Writing Center. “We’re really just moving past the exam material, now that students have had their exam, and moving on to more interesting elements of physics,” said physics teacher Dr. Fertig, with students learning about newer topics, such as Galilean relativity.

“I feel so relieved,” said sophomore Anna Spears, “It’s a huge weight off my back.” Students have worked hard, and don’t have much longer until the summer. Now that classes have gotten less stressful, students can finally relax and enjoy themselves, a necessary part of high school.