Is APUSH or Hon US History in 9th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how Internet strangers will give you more useful advice than watching your own daughters for over a decade.

At least for me, when I was in HS, AP was for the very top kids and only in Senior year (with maybe 1 exception). You had to apply to get a spot. It takes a while to realize that now it is basically the college prep curriculum throughout HS for all. That is where forums like this are helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We slot into one of the high schools that requires students to select between APUSH or Hon US History in freshman year. DD is a great student but on the slow side of finishing work. However, she gets high A's in all her classes in Middle School and is quite motivated.

That said, I can't help but have second thoughts about her taking APUSH in 9th grade. Her sister took it last year and did well, but it was a lot of work to maintain an A in the class, and pass with a 5 on the AP exam. I keep hearing people talk about how one should always take "the most rigorous classes", but how important is APUSH in the scheme of things?? DD will very likely enter a STEM field and I can see her continue to pursue higher level STEM classes for the remainder of her HS years. Is it important for overall college admission to do APUSH rather than Hon US History? I think if our school had offered NSL in 9th and US History in 10th, we would not be wondering as much as I think another year of maturity for some kids might make a difference in terms of doing well in APUSH.

TIA for your advice.

I think she should take Hon US History. DD took hon us history at blair and there were a lot of math magnet and smart people in her class. Don’t look at it as a class for not as smart kids. The only kids who took APUSH were CAP kids who are advanced in english and history. Reduce stress and take Honors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We slot into one of the high schools that requires students to select between APUSH or Hon US History in freshman year. DD is a great student but on the slow side of finishing work. However, she gets high A's in all her classes in Middle School and is quite motivated.

That said, I can't help but have second thoughts about her taking APUSH in 9th grade. Her sister took it last year and did well, but it was a lot of work to maintain an A in the class, and pass with a 5 on the AP exam. I keep hearing people talk about how one should always take "the most rigorous classes", but how important is APUSH in the scheme of things?? DD will very likely enter a STEM field and I can see her continue to pursue higher level STEM classes for the remainder of her HS years. Is it important for overall college admission to do APUSH rather than Hon US History? I think if our school had offered NSL in 9th and US History in 10th, we would not be wondering as much as I think another year of maturity for some kids might make a difference in terms of doing well in APUSH.

TIA for your advice.

This sounds like my dd. Very conscientious and can do very well. But tends to spend a long time studying/preparing and gets stressed about not being prepared/doing a perfect job. She's thriving in APUSH. It seems to me (an imperfect view watching different kids with different learning styles over the years) that our school at least (WCHS) has eased up the workload from a few years ago. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that they still cover the material in the same amount of time, but seem to be easing them into the writing more-- more practice and prep rather than all-tasks. Giving more of the prompts ahead of time so kids know what to prepare for the test. I think a lot of that has been going away slowly over the last month, but it has been a very reasonable process this fall and this kid's percentile grade is a good deal higher than older sib who went through a few years ago.

I'd recommend starting in APUSH and keeping sight of things to drop down to Honors if necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really glad my freshman is taking APUSH. It’s the first class in MCPS that has made him work and taught him study skills and I’m glad he’s finally getting that. That said, while he’s a stem-oriented kid he really likes history (apush has contributed to that), likes to read, and has always been efficient about getting his work done. After a bumpy first test he’s been doing well. All that said, I don’t think we’ll push it for my second kid who is equally smart but slow and doesn’t like to read. Just doesn’t seem like a battle worth fighting/stress worth causing freshman year.

Agree with this. APUSH is by far the hardest course all of my kids have had in freshman year... but it works because several of the other courses tend to be far too easy/little work. So there's time to spend on APUSH in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how Internet strangers will give you more useful advice than watching your own daughters for over a decade.

At least for me, when I was in HS, AP was for the very top kids and only in Senior year (with maybe 1 exception). You had to apply to get a spot. It takes a while to realize that now it is basically the college prep curriculum throughout HS for all. That is where forums like this are helpful.

It was like this for me in MCPS as well, but things have changed. Honors classes are now honors in name only, so AP/IB is the new honors. And MCPS is pushing AP classes starting in 9th grade to make up for the erosion of true honors courses.

It's a mess. But that's the reality of the situation.

[Anonymous]

There is a ton of reading if your child actually wants to learn so if she's slow at doing things this will just cause a lot of stress.

[Anonymous]

OP, you might want to take a look at this.

https://examstudyexpert.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-24-Easiest-APs-bubble-chart.jpg

Unless they are pretty organized and have a lot of time to spend on it, I would not advice that a HS freshman take it. It's fine to wait until they're not in a transition year to take the course if possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids did APUSH - most high stats kids at their HS did. If your child wants to attend a top college, they are competing with their peers and need to show rigor, and taking APs is how they do that. If your child is not aiming for a top college, then it doesn't matter

OP Here. Maybe DD has bigger plans but I'd be happy with UMD, especially their Honors College.

UMD gives 2 classes of college credit for success in APUSH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m really glad my freshman is taking APUSH. It’s the first class in MCPS that has made him work and taught him study skills and I’m glad he’s finally getting that. That said, while he’s a stem-oriented kid he really likes history (apush has contributed to that), likes to read, and has always been efficient about getting his work done. After a bumpy first test he’s been doing well. All that said, I don’t think we’ll push it for my second kid who is equally smart but slow and doesn’t like to read. Just doesn’t seem like a battle worth fighting/stress worth causing freshman year.

2nd this. It's been a fantastic class. At first my kid was failing but got his grade way up. The teacher has taught them study skills, test taking skills, note taking skills, how to use a text book and more. I wanted to pull my kid out and the teacher said no. I am so thankful for that teacher this year. It's a hard class and a huge, but really good learning curve. (assuming you get a good teacher)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how Internet strangers will give you more useful advice than watching your own daughters for over a decade.

At least for me, when I was in HS, AP was for the very top kids and only in Senior year (with maybe 1 exception). You had to apply to get a spot. It takes a while to realize that now it is basically the college prep curriculum throughout HS for all. That is where forums like this are helpful.

It was like this for me in MCPS as well, but things have changed. Honors classes are now honors in name only, so AP/IB is the new honors. And MCPS is pushing AP classes starting in 9th grade to make up for the erosion of true honors courses.

It's a mess. But that's the reality of the situation.

AP = Honors
Honors = Grade level
Grade level = Remedial (often not even offered)

That does not mean no one should ever choose honors over AP though...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We slot into one of the high schools that requires students to select between APUSH or Hon US History in freshman year. DD is a great student but on the slow side of finishing work. However, she gets high A's in all her classes in Middle School and is quite motivated.

That said, I can't help but have second thoughts about her taking APUSH in 9th grade. Her sister took it last year and did well, but it was a lot of work to maintain an A in the class, and pass with a 5 on the AP exam. I keep hearing people talk about how one should always take "the most rigorous classes", but how important is APUSH in the scheme of things?? DD will very likely enter a STEM field and I can see her continue to pursue higher level STEM classes for the remainder of her HS years. Is it important for overall college admission to do APUSH rather than Hon US History? I think if our school had offered NSL in 9th and US History in 10th, we would not be wondering as much as I think another year of maturity for some kids might make a difference in terms of doing well in APUSH.

TIA for your advice.

I think she should take Hon US History. DD took hon us history at blair and there were a lot of math magnet and smart people in her class. Don’t look at it as a class for not as smart kids. The only kids who took APUSH were CAP kids who are advanced in english and history. Reduce stress and take Honors.

This doesn't make sense. CAP kids are the only kids who flat-out cannot take APUSH because CAP US History takes that spot on the schedule. Magnet kids sometimes take APUSH, but the only thing that CAP kids can do is to study for the test independently. They are, by definition, not in the actual APUSH class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My Blair magnet kid decided not to do APUSH because they were told repeatedly how much with it was. Seems to be regretting it.

It's easy to regret not getting the "reward" and ignore the cost. You can register for the AP test privately if you think the non-AP class and self study is sufficient preparation.

I don’t think self study is sufficient. My kid was not thinking of the “reward” (what is that reward??) when they made that comment but in fact regretting having turned down the two options for even greater acceleration (functions and APUSH) in an already extremely accelerated program for fear that it would be too much pressure. Has now decided that in fact the pressure isn’t too much and could have handled more.

[Anonymous]

Does your kid not do a lot of stuff outside school? How does your kid have time to handle more?

[Anonymous]

Surprised NSL isn't available. If your child doesn't have a lot of other things on their plate (sports, etc.), I'd do APUSH. It would be great for them to have that early lesson on how to self-advocate, manage their time well, etc. APUSH isn't hard, it's just the time it takes every night. 25-30 page readings (in smaller textbook form), in my experience, is not unheard of - coupled with writing 8 page papers. They'll also have seen a lot of the material at a higher level in middle school, or they can put themes together and it'll make sense, just that it digs deeper into detail. The AP exam at the end of the year is surprisingly easy - high rates of 3s and above for college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how Internet strangers will give you more useful advice than watching your own daughters for over a decade.

At least for me, when I was in HS, AP was for the very top kids and only in Senior year (with maybe 1 exception). You had to apply to get a spot. It takes a while to realize that now it is basically the college prep curriculum throughout HS for all. That is where forums like this are helpful.

It was like this for me in MCPS as well, but things have changed. Honors classes are now honors in name only, so AP/IB is the new honors. And MCPS is pushing AP classes starting in 9th grade to make up for the erosion of true honors courses.

It's a mess. But that's the reality of the situation.

AP = Honors
Honors = Grade level
Grade level = Remedial (often not even offered)

That does not mean no one should ever choose honors over AP though...

This is not true for all classes, teachers, or schools so be careful with the assumption. Also not all history teachers are going slow things down in APUSH for Freshman who are not prepared for the time management, study, or pace because they know the difficulty of the AP exam and how colleges look at this course. If your kid is not ready yet they can take APUSH later (sophomore or Junior year) if they so choose.