Gina Saputo, News Editor

As the school year moves towards a close, juniors and seniors (and a few lucky sophomores) typically await the dreaded two weeks of AP testing in the middle of May.

On top of finals, this is an extremely stressful time for all of us AP kids.

What all of us really needed, on top of the whole pandemic thing, is pushing AP tests into our summer vacation.
The Tustin Unified School District recently announced a revised schedule  for AP testing.

These tests were planned for early to mid May, which is standard for AP tests as the last two weeks of school after them are meant for preparation for finals.

But, when this statement came out, I did, and I am sure most AP kids cringed at the thought of them being pushed back two to four weeks later.

As a senior, this affects me directly. I have my first AP test on May 18th, and my next one almost four weeks later on June 10th. This is two weeks after graduation. Two weeks after I am not even in high school anymore.

In what will surely feel like the middle of summer, I have to get back on my computer, and take a Statistics test. This was not part of my summer plan.

But, this is not about my ruined summer, and this is not about my feelings. This is about the District. The District had an option. CollegeBoard offered three test administration dates. Administration 1: May 3-17. Administration 2: May 18-28, and Administration 3: June 1-11. Usually we test through administration 1 and 2. This year, we are testing through 2 and 3.

But why? According to Dr. Hartloff, the District made the decision based on how many students signed up to take the exam, and taking  safety guidelines and personnel to proctor into consideration. TUSD cannot meet safety precautions? This is what they have been managing to do all throughout the whole year, meeting safety precautions.

So, is the real reason that TUSD did not want to hire, train, and pay proctors to administer the in-person and earlier exams? They would rather drag out this already long year for us struggling seniors who are ready to just get out of here?

I know as an AP student I am responsible for managing my time, homework, and school life, but how is the District managing their priorities?