Cracking the AP Art Exam

Mia Lopez-ZubiriStaff WriterWith May, comes Advanced Placement (AP) exams. These tests have students frantically reviewing every study guide, Barron’s book and homework assignment they’ve ever completed. However, when it comes to the AP Art exam, there are no books that students can study that will completely secure them a passing grade. For the exam, there is a fine line between being able to express yourself artistically and creating what the judges want to see.Students must create a portfolio of 29 pieces which they work on throughout the school year. 24 of these pieces must be photographed and uploaded online and five are sent to the judges to view in person.The portfolio should demonstrate three skill sets — “quality” (five pieces that demonstrate the students’ mastery of drawing), “concentration” (12 pieces on a cohesive concept), and “breadth,” (12 varied pieces).“A lot of times they are looking more for technical skill than creative ability,” AP Art teacher Amy Bouse said. “It’s hard because it’s not a class where everyone is taking the same exam. It’s the same project, but every student is going to be coming to it with different abilities, experience and interest. I try to take wherever they are and develop them into better artists from that point.”According to Bouse, judges are looking for artistic ability equivalent to that of a first year college art student. Judges want to see evidence that shows students’ understanding of elements and principles of design and ability to develop a piece into a logical conclusion.Senior Gus Graef, who scored a 5 on the exam last year, says there is no right or wrong way to receive such a high grade.“It’s art — how are you going to make a right or wrong?” Graef said. “If I got a bad score I wouldn’t have really taken it to heart. In my mind, I like my art and maybe other people might not like my art, but I make art for myself, not for other people.”According to Bouse, there is no key to passing the exam; however, students must be dedicated to their art, which can be difficult when 12 of their pieces must be on the same topic.“I would definitely say that that’s difficult,” senior Ella Rogers-Fett said about creating 12 pieces on the same subject. “It can become monotonous and you really have to be very specific, rather than picking a general topic. Sometimes the unique ones get very good grades, and sometimes they don’t.”Although students are never assigned themes for their concentration, conceptual creativity is discussed in class and students must begin thinking of what their theme will be as soon as they are accepted into AP Art.“For some students, it’s hard to think of 12 pieces on the same subject,” Bouse said. “They need to be able to stick with something for a while and find ways to keep it interesting to them.”Rogers-Fett, who passed the exam with a score of three, says that the exam results are unpredictable, and although you can prepare by following the rubric, there is no way to be certain you will pass.“It’s definitely very subjective, if you push or don’t push certain boundaries, they aren’t going to like you,” Rogers-Fett said. “It’s a very small group of people, so there aren’t many eyes on your work.”Senior Gus Graef concurred that the examination process leaves a lot of mystery.“How to get a 5, I couldn’t really tell you, because I just kind of threw it together and it happened and I wasn’t expecting to get a 5,” Graef said. “It’s just, make good art, I guess. If you have a really good concentration, it can help a lot — do something out of the ordinary.”For the portfolio which he received a 5 on, Graef created a series of light box cutouts of the Los Angeles bike scene. Graef not only worked on his project at home and during art class, but during other classes as well.“I worked on my art in every single class,” Graef said. “I was there with a little exacto knife cutting out pieces of paper in the middle of AP Biology. I work on my art whenever I have free time.”There are other obstacles that unexpectedly stop students from passing, such as uploading failures.Junior Yuri Kawashima, who did not pass the exam, says that her pieces did not upload clearly online, resulting in a lower score. However, because students receive their AP scores at the end of the year, they do not affect the students’ grades in the class.“I feel like the whole idea of people who are scoring your work based on digital images is ineffective. A lot of times it’s not very accurately represented,” Kawashima said. “I don’t think it’s the best way to grade someone’s artwork.  I  didn’t get the grade I wanted because I couldn’t display my work properly on the website.”One of the most frustrating elements of the exam is that when the results come back, students only receive a number, with no feedback telling them what they did right or wrong.“It’s more so that you have to follow instructions rather than being free with your art,” Kawashima said. “You definitely have to follow the rubric. It’s also really opinion-based, so it changes depending on who’s scoring.”When she retakes the exam, Kawashima says she will make more of an effort to abide by the rubric.Although the exam is supposed to be a demonstration of a student’s artistic ability, a couple have found that the best way to pass is to follow the rubric, rather than being creative.“It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so it requires for almost everybody a lot of time, thought and it also requires for them to be interested in their subject matter and be able to explore it fully,” Bouse said.Students must maintain an interest in their concentration topic, making sure their ideas connect from one piece to another by spending a lot of time on it.“The best way to do it would be to become really familiar with the rubric, spend a lot of time on it and put a lot of effort into your concentration,” Rogers-Fett said. “But even with all that, you never know.”Art students face difficulties other AP students take for granted: the ability to memorize all necessary information from a book and the certainty that what the student considers good work will transfer to the judge giving them their grade.mlopez-zubiri@thesamohi.com