Tara Deshpande, junior, is 1 of the 609 students who will be participating in the 1,370 AP exams over the next two weeks.

“I’ve put in the effort all year,” Deshpande said. “I’m nervous to see my score, but I am hoping for a 4 or 5.”

Deshpande is taking AP Psychology this year, but this is not her first AP class.

“My first ap class was AP World, and while it was difficult if you keep up with the work, the class gets easier,” Deshpande said.

Deshpande has experienced firsthand the decline in her and other students’ mental health during exam times.

“It’s very overwhelming and draining,” Deshpande said.

Katherine Bauman, AP European History teacher, said she sees her students all year and does notice how their mental health changes around exam time.

“Students do have a lot of anxiety around the test,” Bauman said. “More than they do before the AP exam.”

She said her students often get fixated on their scores so she likes to tell them that “your score is just a number. One test does not define you.”

Bauman also gives her students strategies for the exam to help alleviate stress. She advises her students to come in on Friday afternoons or Saturday mornings to help prepare for the exams.

“When students do this, I notice a change in how they feel about the exam,” Bauman said. “They’re more confident and less anxious.”

However, Alyssa Rashet, junior, said the workload is sometimes just too much.

“AP classes are different from grade-level classes. My mental health declines because of all the stress I have that I usually wouldn’t have in my grade-level classes,” Rashet said. “AP classes come with a lot of fast-paced work.”

To help decrease her stress, Rashet said she finds strategies to help her study and feel more confident with her exam.

“I use AP classroom to take multiple-choice tests,” Rashet said.