SAT Chemistry and Biology Subject Tests were being discontinued, and AP courses appeared likely to become a more important way for students to demonstrate subject knowledge.
Before those tests disappeared, one Russian student earned perfect scores in both SAT Chemistry and SAT Biology. I was glad we had been able to secure those results while the examinations were still available. From that point, the plan was to place more energy into AP Chemistry and AP Biology.
IB Chemistry students in Dubai were also reporting strong results. One student finally earned a grade 7 at a school known for very strict marking, and another set of results confirmed that the Chemistry preparation was working well.
Because teaching had been exceptionally busy after 2020, I had not taken on many AP Chemistry students during the first part of 2021. These results marked the beginning of a renewed effort to build a full AP Chemistry program and help more students work toward a 5.
Reactions to the 2021 AP Chemistry examination were mixed. Some students said it was manageable, while others found it difficult, so it did not appear to have been an especially easy paper.
The content students need to understand is finite, but they need extensive practice applying it. The original article estimated that a serious student might work through roughly 2,000 questions across the preparation period.
The recommended first step was a large collection of AP Chemistry practice problems organised by topic. Students were advised to complete the core problems until no unclear steps remained, then finish their preparation with authentic released questions.
The most important point was not simply to accumulate a high question count. Each problem should close a gap in understanding so that the same chemical principle can be recognised in a new context.