Senior Layla Madison’s hard work shows through in this piece sent with 20 drawings for the AP assessment in May. “Most of my artwork was inspired by East Asian architecture, I find it very intricate and beautiful. I also was inspired by nature and tried to include it where I could,” Madison said.

When you envision the month of May, various images may come to mind – from blooming flowers and warmer weather to the imminent end of the school year. However, for almost 35% of public school students participating in the yearly standardized testing, May signifies the challenging and high-stakes AP assessments.

Countless hours of hard work and determination are dedicated to preparing for these tests in pursuit of the perfect score of 5. Senior Layla Madison, who learned she received a 5 in July, created 16-17 art pieces, spending around 2-6 hours creating the pieces and curating the portfolio. Only 15% of students in the nationwide AP Drawing class achieved this score, and art teacher Doug Talleur has had one student every year that got a 5. 

With Layla’s “modern,” “detailed,” and “freehand,” drawing style, creating a portfolio to submit for the AP assessment was a long-awaited success. 

“When I submitted my portfolio, I was hoping I would get a 4, so when it came to receiving my score I was very surprised to see a 5,” Madison said.

Madison enjoyed drawing as a kid but stopped for a while in middle school. Despite this temporary pause, Madison “decided to pick the hobby back up in high school.”

The portfolio scoring considering over fifteen different styles of drawing. There are two examinations and major parts of the portfolio: the first is the review, followed by the second part, known as an investigation. 

“The first part is just straight up skill level where they evaluate five artworks just based on skill and concept. It’s more about how ‘good’ is,” Talleur said. “The second part is called an investigation where students pick a topic, and they make a whole bunch of artwork that revolves around that topic.” 

In preparation for this assessment, Madison recommends that students “stay on top of the deadlines and make more pieces than you will need. Being able to choose from an array of art pieces to include into your portfolio will make the process much easier.”

This stressful assessment wraps up the school year for all the AP Drawing students including Madison. Then, they just have to wait to see how the judges score their work.

“I loved seeing the finished product of my portfolio. It felt very liberating to submit. The only thing I wish I did differently was make completed pieces of the ideas that I initially scrapped,” Madison said.