Good luck to all who plan to take summer school this summer! Usually classes taken during the summer cram a year of work into six weeks. This year, however, teachers only have five weeks to do the cramming.

To achieve this, there will be 2 three-hour periods with a lunch break in between. Add that to some AP summer assignments and a sport summer camp or two and you get one fun summer.

The shortened time is because we will be starting school earlier for the 2013 school year. At first glance, this appears to be horrible, but it may actually be for the benefit of students for several reasons. One reason is that the first semester will end at winter vacation. There will be no need to worry about forgetting information over the break. Worrying about and studying for finals over the vacation will not be an issue. Teachers may even decide against giving students an assignment because they will not be learning any new material.

Another reason is standardized testing. Most tests like the CAHSEE and the Star Test must be given to all of California at a specific time in the year. Because school starts earlier, teachers are allowed more time to prepare their students for these important tests, which in turn means better results. Many students do not know that better scores means more funding from the state. This money goes to the students by making improvements to the school. This is especially true about AP tests. Students on the East Coast are allowed almost a month more of time to study for their tests because schools start earlier. This in turn can make the difference between a two and a three, getting credits for a college course or having to retake the course again.