AP US Government in 9th

[Anonymous]

Any experience with this class if chosen instead of Honors US History in 9th (which is the grade level class despite being called honors)? How demanding is the AP Govt?

[Anonymous]

Lots of reading and writing. If your DC likes history go for it. If not, take honors.

[Anonymous]

It is a pretty hard class, really. I have one in it now, and another that took it a few years ago. The older one is a very advanced student, and I think this was one of the more challenging classes. I have a political science degree and a law degree and I find it difficult. There's a lot of terminology that is not necessarily intuitive plus they have to learn Supreme Court cases, etc. I don't think of it as being super intensive on reading (there is definitely more than MS), but there is a lot of writing, including writing up notes on a weekly basis that a lot of the kids moan and groan about.

Also, PP said if your kid likes history go for it -- there's some history involved (stuff about Supreme Court cases and some of the issues involved in setting up the government), but it's really not history based. There's a lot of stuff like what are the different kinds of governmental structures, what are the different kinds of representational democracies. I like history, but I find this stuff pretty boring.

[Anonymous]

It’s an easier AP history class overall but not a necessarily an easy AP exam. If they like history and have good study skills (or will pick up study skills quickly) go for it. Else take the Honors US History in 9th and build up to an AP.

[Anonymous]

Also note that Government comes with either the AP exam or the End of Course exam.

[Anonymous]

Not hard if you are good at reading/memorizing. It was a steep learning curve for our child but got a really good teacher who taught the kids to take notes, study and more and its been really helpful.

[Anonymous]

It is one of the easier APs. It covers one semester of college content over the course of a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the easier APs. It covers one semester of college content over the course of a year.

But at our HS, the teachers require 9th graders to do concept cards every week for AP Gov. This made it one of the most time intensive of the 8 my kid has taken. They dropped requirement for 10th graders.

[Anonymous]

My kid found AP Gov to be a good intro to AP courses. Hard work, but not incredibly time-intensive.

She’s a high-level reader but has inattentive ADHD, and this was good practice for being able to read longer texts and pull out the relevant points. Served her well the next year in APUSH.

She did have a really good teacher, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the easier APs. It covers one semester of college content over the course of a year.

But at our HS, the teachers require 9th graders to do concept cards every week for AP Gov. This made it one of the most time intensive of the 8 my kid has taken. They dropped requirement for 10th graders.

Those cards are a great way to learn to take notes as the year goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the easier APs. It covers one semester of college content over the course of a year.

It's gotten a bit more rigorous in the last couple of year. But yes, less content than APUSH or AP Bio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any experience with this class if chosen instead of Honors US History in 9th (which is the grade level class despite being called honors)? How demanding is the AP Govt?

My kid, now a sophomore, took it in 9th grade and it was a good introduction to AP, primarily because it was the only AP class she was and could take. A good amount of studying is required although she thinks APUSH which she's taking now, is easier. I would say for any kid who wants to look strong for college admissions should definitely take this class, no question. As a freshman, they're not going to have a bunch of AP courses available to them, so might as well take it and get acclimated with the rigor of an AP class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is one of the easier APs. It covers one semester of college content over the course of a year.

But at our HS, the teachers require 9th graders to do concept cards every week for AP Gov. This made it one of the most time intensive of the 8 my kid has taken. They dropped requirement for 10th graders.

What are concept cards?

[Anonymous]

I have two boys. The first took a world history class on 9th grade (this was quite a few years ago) The other AP Gov. in 9th. I’m not sure these days what other 9th grade history offerings there are besides AP gov, but in my view it is important for kids to get a broader historical context before a deep dive into AP gov. My son who took it found it difficult. Although he ultimately got an A and a 5 on the exam, he remembered relatively little of the class because most kids that age don’t have enough context /appreciation for the subject matter.

[Anonymous]

The reason (Honors) US History is the typical 9th grade course is because it naturally follows 8th grade history, which covers up to Reconstruction. The 9th grade class begins there and continues up to recent years. If you take AP US History, whether in 9th or 10th, it will start back at the beginning.