Adalie Boisselle

AP Gov Teacher Larissa Murphy Hard at Work at her Desk.

AP exam scores are typically available to students around July. While they are a final measure of their success, teachers say those results reflect months of preparation rather than a single testing day.

Interviews with AP teachers at Leominster High School, Megan Robineau (AP Psychology), Dylan Gamache (AP Biology), and Larissa Murphy (AP Government and AP World), show that consistent practice, familiarity with the exam format, and experience with AP scoring play major roles in student performance. These factors are especially important as exams have fully shifted to digital formats.

The teachers interviewed bring a range of experience in Advanced Placement classrooms. Robineau has taught AP classes for seven years, while Gamache said he has taught AP for “a total of either 5 or 6 years.” Murphy, who has taught AP courses for 23 years, said her long involvement with the program and scoring the tests has given her insight into how to best prepare her students.

All three teachers emphasized that repeated exposure to AP-style questions is one of the most effective ways to prepare students for the exam.

Robineau said preparation involves “testing them on how the exam is going to be, with the structure of how it is going to be.”

Gamache agreed, saying that “a lot of practice problems” help students become more comfortable with the material.

Murphy said her experience grading AP exams each June helps her teach students exactly what scorers look for, explaining, “I know exactly how to teach them how to write the essays and how to do the writing.”

Mock exams were also widely supported by the teachers as a preparation tool.

Robineau said that giving students a full practice exam before test day “definitely helps.”

Gamache said mock exams help students adjust to time constraints, noting that while small practice sets are manageable, the 60 multiple choice questions for AP Bio in one sitting is more difficult although it does give the students the full experience.

Murphy said mock exams do not need to match the full length of the real test, but added that teachers should “always be asking AP-style questions” on classroom exams.

Teachers expressed mixed views on whether one or two weeks of review before the AP exam makes a significant difference.

Robineau said review time is often limited due to scheduling issues such as snow days and scheduling conflicts. “Sometimes the review gets cut depending on time,” she said, adding that the placement of AP exams within a two-week testing window can disrupt regular classes.

Gamache said review is most effective when it reinforces material students have practiced throughout the year, explaining that if the end-of-year review is the first exposure to certain content, “I don’t think that that’s going to make a difference.”

Murphy, however, strongly supported review time, responding, “Oh absolutely, absolutely.”

Teachers also discussed whether taking AP exams digitally makes a difference compared with paper testing.

Robineau said the first year of fully digital AP exams included technical issues, particularly during the AP Psychology exam, when several students were unable to test. “There were multiple states that couldn’t actually test on the day,” she said.

Despite these problems, she noted benefits of digital testing, including easier-to-read typed responses, faster scoring and accessibility tools such as text-to-speech. “This is the generation of technology that we live in nowadays,” Robineau said, adding that standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT have already moved online.

Gamache said digital formats can be challenging for students who are not highly self-motivated, as online does not allow for direct hands-on work in a classroom setting.

DOES ALL THE PRACTICE HAVE RESULTS?

AP tests are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing the lowest score and 5 the highest. While many colleges grant credit for a score of 3, more competitive and selective institutions often require scores of 4 or 5. Score averages vary widely by subject, as some AP courses are considered more rigorous and content-heavy than others. Despite these differences, all three teachers emphasized maintaining high expectations for their students, particularly in more demanding courses such as AP Biology and AP Government. 

According to 2025 national data, the average score for AP Biology was 3.24, while AP Government averaged 3.34. AP World History and AP Psychology had slightly lower averages of 3.16 and 3.20. These statistics highlight both the academic challenge of AP courses and the importance of long-term preparation.

As Gamache explained, “If students have been practicing the skills all year, that’s what really shows on the exam,” reinforcing the idea that consistent effort throughout the course plays a larger role in success than last-minute review.

Based on the most recent district data, Leominster High School had a 70.5% pass rate of students scoring a 3 or higher, while other schools in the area like Fitchburg had a score of 40.6, Gardner had a rate of 44.6, and Narragansett had a score of 44.3.

Leominster High School scores are much higher than the national average being that the National pass rate was 21.3 according to the College Board.

Overall, the teachers said success on AP exams depends on sustained preparation rather than last-minute review. They emphasized that consistent practice and familiarity with exam structure are key factors in student performance as AP testing continues to evolve.

Table of Pass Rates of Leominster and Neighboring Schools (Mass DOE) 

Below are the numbers for just Leominster High where last year 315 tests were taken – with 73% of the results earning a score of 3 or better.

We have also broken down the numbers by AP test: Note that AP Gov students scored 100% passing and Leominster scored well above the National average on many AP tests.