Late-Starting Schools Have Less Time to Prep for AP Exams. Does It Matter?

Adams: Success may have less to do with when classes begin and more with whether students can afford to learn everything they need outside of them.

For the 2024-25 school year, Advanced Placement exams will be administered between May 5 and 16. Beyond a small number of exemptions, all students in all states must take the same tests on the same dates, at the same times.

High schools in states that start after Labor Day end up with fewer instructional days before the exams than those that open their doors in mid-August, and sometimes even in late July. Does this discrepancy create a difference in results?

Having had three children in NYC public high schools, where classes start in September, I’ve repeatedly heard from their teachers that they don’t have enough time to cover all the material on the AP tests.