With Advanced Placement (AP) exams steadily approaching in May, students struggle to cram content to score a perfect five. To ease the stress and anxiety that typically accompanies this time of year, teachers have provided their recommendations for exam preparation materials.

Class: Art History

Teacher: Douglas Darracott

Recommendation: AP Art History Crash Course 2016 “I would probably recommend this book based on what it has provided in the past. I don’t know how good it is, however, with the new exam. It analyzes works with greater depth and strays from just listing facts.”

Class: Biology

Teacher: Wesley Kirpach

Recommendation: “I have no recommendations.  They are all made the same, and none are as effective as the student’s notes, participation in class activities and discussions, ability to question the status quo using a practical understanding of the material and ability to apply the subject matter in both familiar and unfamiliar ways.  Most review guides review knowledge. AP is about understanding the mechanisms behind the knowledge to help deduce a more universal truth.”

Class: Calculus BC

Teacher: Belinda Pruitt

Recommendation: “Any of the review books are good. The more questions kids are practicing the better. These books have great multiple choice and free response materials.  Sometimes some questions are out of the scope of the class and students have to just realize that. The College Board website is also a fabulous and free resource. This is a great place to get free response questions because they are the actual questions from past AP exams. It also has the scoring guidelines, so students can see how the questions are graded. If students are having difficulty with a type of problem, they can find some to practice. There are also some released multiple choice problems on the website as well. Obviously students should also review old tests and problem sessions that we have done in class.”

Class: Computer Science

Teacher: Tracy Ishman

Recommendation: Barron’s AP Computer Science A “This book reviews each of the topics and then has several multiple choice questions over each of the specific topics. The latest edition also has three complete practice exams. The questions are well-written and are at least as difficult but often more difficult than what students will actually face. This book is updated fairly frequently.”

Class: Chemistry

Teacher: Nicole Lyssy

Recommendation: Pearson Education Test  Prep Series AP Chemistry or AP Chemistry Crash Course “I don’t really recommend a particular book, but here are some options. The publication date needs to be 2015 or 2016. The books from prior to 2014 don’t align with the new curriculum but could still be useful in general. My favorites include Pearson Education Test Prep Series AP Chemistry. This is the best one I think, but it has to be ordered from the publisher or at least it did last year. I also like AP Chemistry Crash Course. However, Crash Course only has one online practice test.”

Class: Environmental Science

Teacher: Julia Drake

Recommendation: Princeton AP Environmental Science 2016 “I find the sample questions are most similar in content and format to what you will see on the actual AP exam.”

Class: Economics

Teacher: John Scott

Recommendation: 5 Steps to a 5 “Students who take AP Economics at Plano West will be well-prepared for the AP exam with all materials and preparation given throughout the course at Plano West.  Students are not required to purchase a prep book to insure success on the AP exam. If a student intends to augment their studies in preparation for the AP exam, 5 Steps to a 5 would be an excellent choice for both AP Macroeconomics and AP Microeconomics courses.  The author is very knowledgeable and well-attuned to the AP exam.  Students who have used this book in the past have indicated it was an excellent resource for additional preparation.”

Class: Music Theory

Teacher: Akira Sato

Recommendation: Barron’s Music Theory 2016. “It is very good.”

Class: Physics C

Teacher: David Carroll

Recommendation: Princeton Review AP Physics C 2016 “I like it because the practice questions appear to align better with College Board exams. It has good explanations of topics and a good number of practice questions and exams.”

Class: Statistics

Teacher: John Schmerker

Recommendation: Barron’s AP Statistics 2016 “In my opinion, for Statistics the Barron’s AP review book is the best because the questions are written in the same format and vocabulary as the AP test is.  The questions are also very difficult, which will prepare you well for the AP test.  Other books make the questions easier which might give you more confidence when you were preparing but then when the AP test is more difficult, you are prepared for that level of questioning.  Other books that are good are Strive For a Five and the Kaplan review book.”

Class: U.S. Government

Teacher: Jane Carlson

Recommendation: “Since not everyone can afford to buy a review book, I always recommend starting with AP Central on the College Board website. It has released tests and free-response questions (FRQ). Students will be able to see the FRQ rubrics and examples of FRQs that received high, medium and low grades. I would also recommend that students go onto Amazon or another online book seller and read the student reviews for the top AP Government review books, such as AP US Government and Politics Crash Course, Princeton Review, Barron’s and Kaplan. If you only need to brush up, the Crash Course might be good for you. If you need more detail, one of the other books may be better.”

AP exams are only a month away, so be sure to check with teachers prior to exam week to find out about tutorial times.