AP exams to be held at Columbia Union College

The 2004 administration of the Advanced Placement (AP) tests will be held at Columbia Union College (CUC) due to an increase in the number of students being tested this year. Also, Blair will hold a mandatory pre-registration session for students signed up to take AP exams.

Previously, students were tested at Marvin Memorial Church, according to Allen Campbell, Blair's AP coordinator. Blair is relocating testing to CUC because there are too many students taking AP tests to test at Marvin Memorial. The tests will be administered at Wilkerson Hall, which is located in Takoma Park on Flower Avenue.

AP tests were held at CUC when the school was located at the old Blair, but when Blair relocated, the AP location was changed to Marvin Memorial.

Blair's Counseling Department has organized buses to transport students to and from Blair, which will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, parents are encouraged to provide transportation to and from CUC, because parking on campus is limited. Ride-On buses 12 and 13 pass directly in front of CUC.

Despite transportation inconveniences, testing at CUC will be made easier because there is more room at the college than at Marvin Memorial. "At Columbia Union College, we can spread out to different rooms and lower the number of students testing in one location," Campbell said. He believes that this ability to space out will provide a better testing environment for Blazers.

"Some classes could fit in Marvin Memorial, but for the sake of consistency, we moved them all [to CUC]," Campbell said.

According to a memo sent by Blair's Counseling Department, students are not required to attend Blair classes on the days they are scheduled to test. Campbell feels that these excused absences will not be a problem for students, though he does encourage students to go to class. Campbell says students know they are going to miss those days, so they can get the work ahead of time and "be responsible" about the missed classes.

Pre-registration is mandatory for all students who have signed up to take one or more AP exams in May. Pre-registration is between 8:00 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. in the SAC. Students whose last name starts with letters A through L will attend pre-registration on April 15. Those with last names M through Z will register on April 16. Make-up registration will take place on April 19.

The purpose of pre-registration is to save time on the actual test day. "If we do pre-registration, it cuts about 45 minutes off the real test time," said Campbell.

Blazers should show up at CUC at 7:30 a.m. for morning tests and 11:30 a.m. for afternoon tests.

The schedule for AP exams can be found here.