This calls for ice cream.

You know you're a nerd when you look forward to the arrival of AP Score Week with the anticipation the rest of the country demonstrates for Shark Week.  Oh, and for the record, they coincided this year.  It's pretty much fun to be able to celebrate the accomplishments of students who dread, focus, dwell on, and agonize over AP simulations, and ultimately the tests themselves, and when the scores roll in.

 It's awful to say that the test is the most important thing -- because we all know that is not true.  But success on an AP Exam that leads to college credit, or permission to skip an entry level course in college, translates to saved tuition dollars, in addition to the new-found confidence of owning a nationally-normed assessment. Given the Gifted population that dwells in my world, I've been privileged to know some students who were so successful on multiple exams that they were able to enter college as second semester freshmen or even sophomores, shortening their college tuition obligations, or allowing for a  double major in four years.

These days, the additional benefit of high-achievement on AP exams translates to higher School Performance Profile numbers for high schools, also impacting teacher evaluations.

So this week, with sharks swimming on the Discovery Channel in the background, AP teachers are analyzing data, checking to see which college-bound students are changing their schedules for higher-level classes, and revamping their lesson plans, based on the achievement results.

And at least two students are having ice cream with me tomorrow, because sometimes you just have to celebrate the achievements in life!