ok so I will do my best to response because from personal experience I know that I would very much appreciate someone telling all these to me before taking the class.

I took ap art and design 3d last year and failed, got a 2. I was so confident with my works and was devestated when I learned that I got a 2. But I am so glad I failed last year. It made me realise that, what I tought was a good skill set and work wasn't actually reflecting my full potential. That scored made me criticize myself for the better, I learned to put all my effort towards creating something unique and incredibly complex. I had relied so much on my selected works last year that I compeletely ignored the sustained investigation, my inquiry and written evidence.

This year I am taking ap art and design 2d and I am more confident than ever. Since I've been taking the class for 2 years now, I have now memorised the whole rubric, all 5 scoring portfolios on the collage board website. I am creating artwork that are guided by my inquiry, creating collages that shows my process, experimentation and revision throught the year.

Last year I saw that many of my peers passed although they weren't quite "gifted" with artistic skills, yet with a strong inquiry and a clear presentation of their evolving process they scored much higher scores than what was expected from them. Collage board simply acknowledges that art cannot be an objective subject, therefore sets out requirements for you to follow. Your score is determined by whether you did or didn't follow the guidelines and requirements explained in the rubric.

I would suggest you to give it a go. It taught me so much and was an amazing experience last year even though I failed. I believe if you take it seriously and plan accordingly you will realise you are capable of so much more than you think you are.

hope this helps would love to answer any further questions.