What are the downsides of doing poorly on an AP test after self studying?

[Anonymous]

His idea is stupid and there is no way he has done this without parental support. Let’s say a middle schooler suggests something stupid, parents then parent and either say no OR say let’s find out if this is even allowed. What good parents don’t do is say nothing when a kid suggests doing what your kid is doing…without knowing if the proposed path will be allowed for your kid (when it isn’t for anyone else).

GL

[Anonymous]

Everybody's a genius.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everybody's a genius.

He’s not a genius. He’s a kid who got bored during the pandemic and discovered coding as a hobby and did it a lot. So, now he doesn’t want to take a class that he imagines will be boring, and has hatched a plan to get out of it.

Will it work? I don’t know. But I believe in letting my kids explore and make mistakes and so I let him try. It’s not a stupid idea, even if it doesn’t work, and if it turns out to be a mistake, making mistakes and picking yourself up and trying something else isn’t a bad thing either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everybody's a genius.

He’s not a genius. He’s a kid who got bored during the pandemic and discovered coding as a hobby and did it a lot. So, now he doesn’t want to take a class that he imagines will be boring, and has hatched a plan to get out of it.

Will it work? I don’t know. But I believe in letting my kids explore and make mistakes and so I let him try. It’s not a stupid idea, even if it doesn’t work, and if it turns out to be a mistake, making mistakes and picking yourself up and trying something else isn’t a bad thing either.

You’re making it sound like he tried skateboarding. That’s not what happened. Your kid has studied to take an exam for the purpose of skipping a lower level class. If he wasn’t mature enough to discuss this with the HS counselor beforehand, why wouldn’t you have suggested it? The mistake isn’t in failing - the mistake is not using it as an example for how you plan ahead rather than plough ahead. If it was truly about trying something, he could take a course online, but not the test…and, of course, now the class would be boring bc he self studied AND has convinced himself it will be.

[Anonymous]

One anecdote: our DC took a self-studied AP test in 8th grade and scored a 5. It is in the subject they are majoring in in college. No real upside or downside. Kid wanted to do it, we were willing to pay for a guidebook and the score and we helped DC register at our local high school. It wasn’t a big deal either way. The score did help with course level placement when entering college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everybody's a genius.

He’s not a genius. He’s a kid who got bored during the pandemic and discovered coding as a hobby and did it a lot. So, now he doesn’t want to take a class that he imagines will be boring, and has hatched a plan to get out of it.

Will it work? I don’t know. But I believe in letting my kids explore and make mistakes and so I let him try. It’s not a stupid idea, even if it doesn’t work, and if it turns out to be a mistake, making mistakes and picking yourself up and trying something else isn’t a bad thing either.

You’re making it sound like he tried skateboarding. That’s not what happened. Your kid has studied to take an exam for the purpose of skipping a lower level class. If he wasn’t mature enough to discuss this with the HS counselor beforehand, why wouldn’t you have suggested it? The mistake isn’t in failing - the mistake is not using it as an example for how you plan ahead rather than plough ahead. If it was truly about trying something, he could take a course online, but not the test…and, of course, now the class would be boring bc he self studied AND has convinced himself it will be.

He was like 90% there when he came up with this plan. It’s not like in 4th grade when he started coding this was the plan. But when he realized that he already knew most of the stuff he decided to learn the rest.

I did ask him if he wanted to ask the HS counselor. He didn’t.

[Anonymous]

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everybody's a genius.

He’s not a genius. He’s a kid who got bored during the pandemic and discovered coding as a hobby and did it a lot. So, now he doesn’t want to take a class that he imagines will be boring, and has hatched a plan to get out of it.

Will it work? I don’t know. But I believe in letting my kids explore and make mistakes and so I let him try. It’s not a stupid idea, even if it doesn’t work, and if it turns out to be a mistake, making mistakes and picking yourself up and trying something else isn’t a bad thing either.

You’re making it sound like he tried skateboarding. That’s not what happened. Your kid has studied to take an exam for the purpose of skipping a lower level class. If he wasn’t mature enough to discuss this with the HS counselor beforehand, why wouldn’t you have suggested it? The mistake isn’t in failing - the mistake is not using it as an example for how you plan ahead rather than plough ahead. If it was truly about trying something, he could take a course online, but not the test…and, of course, now the class would be boring bc he self studied AND has convinced himself it will be.

He was like 90% there when he came up with this plan. It’s not like in 4th grade when he started coding this was the plan. But when he realized that he already knew most of the stuff he decided to learn the rest.

I did ask him if he wanted to ask the HS counselor. He didn’t.

And that is when parenting steps in:

- if you don’t want to ask the counselor, you should do it just for fun. Be mindful that you’re already worried you’ll be bored in the related class so if the counselor says no, you’ll be even more bored.


Then continue repeating this…otherwise he’s in the situation he’s in —wanting to take the test in order to skip the related class and not wanting to be bored. You helped in register and pay for the exam, so you’ve been involved for a while, and I strongly guess, supporting the idea.

[Anonymous]

If the goal is demonstrating a love for coding, code something. Don’t waste time studying for a paper test. No HS has four years of post AP programming classes. Whatever he registers for is a chance to do what he loves with peers.