Over the course of a student’s high school career, there are countless important tests that students will tackle, including Advanced Placement exams. For every AP class, there is an exam that will provide students with college credit hours available. 

The purpose of these exams is to display the knowledge students were able to gain over the course of the class, and allow students to gain college credit hours. 

Typically, students have been required to take an ACCUPLACER test that if they passed, would allow for their enrollment in the College Now course through Johnson Country Community College. Due to Covid-19, the requirement to enroll in the AP Language and Copmposition College Now course is a 3.0 GPA or a 19 on the English ACT. 

“It is important this year because of safety concerns with the spread of COVID-19. It would be very difficult to have thousands of Johnson County students go to JCCC for testing, and this cuts down on how many need to go by a significant percentage,” APLAC teacher Phillip Hamilton said. 

While it may seem as though life has returned to normalcy, there is still a pandemic going on and taking precautions to prevent students from exposure to Covid-19 is still very important. 

As for the accuplacer test’s accuracy in determining if students are ready to do college now, Hamilton is not worried about that. 

“The vast majority of the students who get in because of the GPA replacement waiver would have passed the ACCUPLACER, anyway,” Hamilton said. 

Students’ opinions to the ACCUPLACER test no longer being a requirement are similar to Hamilton’s.

“I think it was the right decision because having hundreds of students go to JCCC during a pandemic would not have been the brightest thing to do in the middle of a pandemic,“ junior Keeley Chambers said. 

Even during these odd times, enrollment in College Now is always encouraged, as it can be very helpful towards a student’s future. 

“[Students] definitely should enroll in College Now unless they plan on taking the AP test. Our English College Now courses are very rigorous, and rather than the semester-long courses on a college campus, students get to learn for the entire year,” Hamilton said.