AP in 9th Grade APS
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Anonymous
| My kid is signing up for HS classes for next year and there are options for AP World History, AP Human Geography, and AP Computer Science. My eldest took AP Comp sci as a freshman, but not the others (they weren't offered at his school for 9th grade). Thoughts on AP World History and AP Human Geography for 9th graders in APS? Kid is bright, but APS middle school curriculum doesn't have me feeling like he is ready for an AP humanities course in 9th grade... |
Anonymous
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Which school? The AP world teacher at Wakefield has a bit of a reputation. Some love him, some don’t… but everyone I’ve talked to says he assigns hours of homework a night and it’s a tough class.
I’ve heard AP human geo is much more reasonable. Don’t know about the other class. For what it’s worth, we went with all intensified but no AP freshman year… kid will take some AP classes in 10th. |
Anonymous
| I could have sworn at the Yorktown info session they said no APs for freshman. |
Anonymous
| APS program of studies says you can take AP history in 9th at Wakefield and W-L but not Yorktown. |
Anonymous
My WHS students opted out of AP classes freshman year. They didn't feel ready, and we didn't push. If they'd been eager to take the class and could explain why they felt ready and interested, we would've supported that. Agreed with the notes above on the AP World teacher, and will add I've heard he gets results and does an excellent job preparing kids for the AP test. Kids went on to take 10-12 AP classes, which felt like plenty. |
Anonymous
That’s definitely plenty. Most parents here probably took no more than 4 or 5 AP classes (at the high end). |
Anonymous
Yes, Yorktown does not allow AP for freshman but some of the other high schools do. There’s truly no need to do an AP class your freshman year. Depending on which middle school you’re coming from, it is a huge adjustment to high school level classes, especially intensified. Our students went to Williamsburg, which was a breeze and they struggled a little their freshman year. Their stress levels would’ve been out of the roof if they were sitting for an AP class/test. These kids are 14. Let them adjust. |
Anonymous
Actually, most of us parents only took one or two AP classes and still got into UVA or Virginia Tech. |
Anonymous
Not necessarily. I do think there are students who are ready for more challenge, especially in reading and analyzing and writing. Middle schools generally are not particularly challenging in that regard. Not all students succumb to a sudden increase in expectations and work. Many actually thrive by being challenged and having more expected of them, being held accountable more. |
Anonymous
More importantly than preparing his students for the AP test, he prepares them well for future AP classes, which in turn actually helps students develop academic skills that they apply to all of their classes and not just AP. In this regard, it's a benefit of taking the challenge as a freshman, learning the expectations and developing the skills for AP level work early on, rather than being shocked and trying to adjust mid-way. I don't know if this applies to the teachers teaching the other freshman-eligible AP courses; but it definitely does apply to the AP World Hx teacher at WHS. He intentionally conducts this class to prepare students to do well in future AP classes and all their other classes. BTW, my child did not have "hours of homework a night." Definitely more work than other classes - which is such a meaningless bar given how little homework they have had overall. But much of the learning is time management. Block scheduling means all the work doesn't have to get done in one night and making good use of class time also helps. This teacher also required each student to meet with him individually early on. My kid was intimidated and inclined not to take AP World because of what they heard third-hand from a friend. We talked with their 8th grade World Geography teacher and asked why he recommended them for AP World. He believed my child was ready. He asked my child if they were going to be taking intensified or general English. Because they were taking intensified ENG (indicating sufficient writing skills) and knowing how they performed in his class, he said "then you definitely should be taking AP World." As parents, we also already knew what level of effort they were putting in to get their mostly straight-As and their attitude toward learning. My older child, better and more interested in history, had the same 8th grade teacher but was recommended only for intensified because they didn't believe the maturity and study skills were sufficient for AP. My advice is to have a 3-way conversation and ask the 8th grade teacher WHY they recommend AP, have your student express their own concerns and interests, and you can ask your questions. Also find out what you can about the AP teacher and other students' experiences. Your child can drop the class if it seems it's going to be too much; or one lower grade in an AP class taken as a freshman (if that's what happens) is not going to be the end of the world. They are not trying to set your child up for failure. (I assume it is still the case that the 8th grade teacher needs to recommend AP?) FWIW, my child who took AP World opted to not take any AP classes sophomore year. Hesitant to even do AP Seminar, they were properly encouraged by teachers and positively-influential peers to do so and is finding it enjoyable and very worthwhile - even helpful for their current AP ENG class. Their junior year, 3 APs; Senior year, looking at 5. However, I think part of why some students take a full load of AP classes is due to the lack of challenge even in what APS considers "intensified." It's extremely unfortunate because so many kids are being poorly served in general ed classes, even in some intensified classes, and/or stress their loads with so many APs at once. |
Anonymous
What is their current teacher recommending? How strong are their writing and analytical skills? What is their level of interest in (or, more relevantly, their level of distaste for) history/social studies? I assume you have no hesitancy about them taking all intensified options available to them as a freshman? Then, specifically, why concerned about trying AP - more than a weak MS curriculum....what are your specific concerns about this particular child's ability to manage a challenging class? What does your child think (apart from your concerns)? Do they typically shy away from a greater challenge that might require hard work and prefer to safely sail along pretty easily without risking a "B"? |