The Rubicon editorials and mini-editorials are representative of the opinions of the Staff Editorial Board, which is made up of all students in journalism/Editorial Leadership. All other opinion pieces are the opinions of the authors themselves.

Advanced Placement exams are the most standardized way in which a student may display great proficiency in a certain subject. While St. Paul Academy and Summit School offers no official AP courses, many find that the SPA curriculum prepares them very well for exams.

Students who take one or more exams deserve some recognition for their committment. Studying independently for a rigorous and comprehensive test is no small matter, especially while juggling sports, other classes, religious and cultural involvement, and extracurriculars. It says a lot about the caliber of students enrolled here.

But even the most hardworking of us would face considerable difficulty without the luxury of excellent courses in many subject areas. The many fives and fours SPA produces on AP exams are less a testament to Barron’s and the Princeton Review than to the extraordinary education provided here, and to students who take the initiative to reap its full benefits.