Students are sharpening their number two pencils and practicing writing their essays to prepare for the upcoming advanced placement tests.

AP tests, given by the College Board, are taking place May 4 to May 15. This year Kennedy students will be taking the tests at the Educational Leadership Support Center, the Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services building, and at Kennedy High School. In total, Kennedy students will be taking a total of 1076 exams.

Syndy Richey, the AP coordinator at Kennedy, believes that Kennedy students will be well prepared for the exams.

“I think the teachers here do a really good job of getting them [students] prepared by having special sessions and making sure they know what is going to be on the exams,” Richey said.

Richey gives credit to the teachers for being the main people preparing students for exams. Test takers generally don’t go to Richey for help, but when they register she gives them a handout from the College Board that has test taking tips.

“I don’t really have any secret things, but if I did I would absolutely share them,” Richey said.

Richey thinks the best way to prepare for the exam is to visit the College Board website for practice questions, get adequate sleep the night before the exams, and eat a good breakfast the morning of the exam.

AP exams often cause much stress for students, but Taylor Golden, jr., has taken three tests and has come up with strategies to study so that she is less stressed.

“I take practice quizzes out of my review book and read over information from the review books,” Golden said.

This year, Golden will be taking the U.S. History and Biology exams. With the experience that she has, Golden says she has gotten different tips from all of her various teachers.

“Each teacher I have had has given me tips about each test because all the tests are different, and sometimes they change each year,” Golden said.

Even though taking your first AP exam might be scary and stressful, Golden urges students to not be nervous, and do their best.