10+ AP classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't take AP classes and get anything less than 5 - otherwise, it means nothing.

I disagree.

Yeah. Thats an odd statement. Quite a number of schools accept 4s for credit and some take 3s depending on the class.

I recognize that schools may accept lower scores for purposes of accruing credit(s). The UCs do, as do others.

But do you think AOs anywhere moderately competitive are impressed with a smattering of 3s, 4s and 5s?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Look…did your kid just want to be valedictorian? Colleges don’t care if you take AP Physics 1 or 2 if you take Physics C.

They don’t really care about Art History or Human Geography or other non-core AP classes either.

I guess if that’s the route you want to take…and have no idea what else the school offers…but it’s overkill.

Or maybe you shouldn’t comment without asking better context?
Some of these were required- if you wanted to take C:E&M you had to take Phys 1 and 2. His school has one of the highest Ap Art history course enrollments in the world- got an award for it a few years ago, students take it for fun, usually sophomore year and the teacher is awesome. Human geo was a requirement. Some of those “non core ap”s are out of interest, others are requirements.

The school requires 11 aps to graduate, so that’s how life goes.

Is this Basis or some other school that believes you just take AP classes and that’s HS?

No but it is USNEWS top 10. There’s definitely a lot of AP classes, but students take other things. I see it as no different than heavy IB schools.

That’s because USNEWS generally ranks on how many AP classes kids take (and how many offered).

You will get a high USNEWS ranking if you make kids take lots of AP classes.

It’s been ranked #1 by many different sources. The school is just good lol. Half the teachers have the qualification to teach college. I know people here hate public schools, but the top 10 are great schools that are at the top of the game.

Many parents here are pay to play, and can’t believe that public education is worth its salt. The top magnet programs blow private schools out of the water. The difference is that they aren’t filled with faculty children and legacies at Dartmouth and Uchicago to get easy admissions. The kids have to work for it.

The best magnet schools are the best because of the breadth and depth of post-AP classes…not because they require you take 11…and many actually don’t offer many of the non-core, random APs.

Tell that to Stuyvesant, IMSA, Bronx Sci, Brooklyn Tech, Downtown Magnet, TESLA, TAG, Masterman, and Academic Magnet.

You’re really only speaking on TJ. Many magnets are filled to the brim with AP classes.

Nope. Here's IMSA catalog for example:
https://www.imsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LO-24-25UNOFFFeb_UPDATE3.pdf

Mostly non-AP.
Teachers at most of these schools would be bored and embarrassed teaching AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't take AP classes and get anything less than 5 - otherwise, it means nothing.

I disagree.

If you cannot muster a 5 on an AP test, which usually amounts to a raw score of 75% or so - why are you even taking the class?

1. % means nothing because a test can be easy or hard, sparse or crowded.

2. The test is taken after the class is taken.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look…did your kid just want to be valedictorian? Colleges don’t care if you take AP Physics 1 or 2 if you take Physics C.

They don’t really care about Art History or Human Geography or other non-core AP classes either.

I guess if that’s the route you want to take…and have no idea what else the school offers…but it’s overkill.

Or maybe you shouldn’t comment without asking better context?
Some of these were required- if you wanted to take C:E&M you had to take Phys 1 and 2. His school has one of the highest Ap Art history course enrollments in the world- got an award for it a few years ago, students take it for fun, usually sophomore year and the teacher is awesome. Human geo was a requirement. Some of those “non core ap”s are out of interest, others are requirements.

The school requires 11 aps to graduate, so that’s how life goes.

Is this Basis or some other school that believes you just take AP classes and that’s HS?

No but it is USNEWS top 10. There’s definitely a lot of AP classes, but students take other things. I see it as no different than heavy IB schools.

That’s because USNEWS generally ranks on how many AP classes kids take (and how many offered).

You will get a high USNEWS ranking if you make kids take lots of AP classes.

It’s been ranked #1 by many different sources. The school is just good lol. Half the teachers have the qualification to teach college. I know people here hate public schools, but the top 10 are great schools that are at the top of the game.

Many parents here are pay to play, and can’t believe that public education is worth its salt. The top magnet programs blow private schools out of the water. The difference is that they aren’t filled with faculty children and legacies at Dartmouth and Uchicago to get easy admissions. The kids have to work for it.

The best magnet schools are the best because of the breadth and depth of post-AP classes…not because they require you take 11…and many actually don’t offer many of the non-core, random APs.

Tell that to Stuyvesant, IMSA, Bronx Sci, Brooklyn Tech, Downtown Magnet, TESLA, TAG, Masterman, and Academic Magnet.

You’re really only speaking on TJ. Many magnets are filled to the brim with AP classes.

Nope. Here's IMSA catalog for example:
https://www.imsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LO-24-25UNOFFFeb_UPDATE3.pdf
The new 🆕
Mostly non-AP.
Teachers at most of these schools would be bored and embarrassed teaching AP.

I know a friend at a magnet that only teaches AP, but the teachers go beyond it. AP is just a label for some schools to signal advanced content. You have to check teacher credentials. If most have masters/phd, you’re in good hands

[Anonymous]

Parents here are obnoxious. Schools are different. You learn something new everyday. There’s no national board dictating magnet programs what to and what not to teach.

[Anonymous]

Really depends on the HS. Some restrict APs in 9th or try to reign in #in any given year, and some are magnets with there own DE or mag classes. Some have no restrictions at all, so it ends up being AP escalation. Also, some schools have 6 subjects, some 7, some 8 per semester.

I had one kid in a magnet program with specialized magnet classes. That school had 8 periods, but also did not let 9th graders take APUSH for US history. Mine ended up with 7 AP classes but took 8 exams because magnet content overlapped. But, she also took some magnet courses far beyond APs.

My other kid went to a different magnet that had 1-2 DE classes each semester. They only had 7 periods per semester, and the admin pressured students not to take more than 3 APs in any year. Mine did 4 junior year, and it was fine. They did let students take APs in 9th, and mine too Physics 1 and APUSH. Ended up with 10 APs in addition to DEs and multi.

It just all goes back to the school. If your kid is taking a rigorous schedule in relation to what your school offers/allows, that's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look…did your kid just want to be valedictorian? Colleges don’t care if you take AP Physics 1 or 2 if you take Physics C.

They don’t really care about Art History or Human Geography or other non-core AP classes either.

I guess if that’s the route you want to take…and have no idea what else the school offers…but it’s overkill.

Or maybe you shouldn’t comment without asking better context?
Some of these were required- if you wanted to take C:E&M you had to take Phys 1 and 2. His school has one of the highest Ap Art history course enrollments in the world- got an award for it a few years ago, students take it for fun, usually sophomore year and the teacher is awesome. Human geo was a requirement. Some of those “non core ap”s are out of interest, others are requirements.

The school requires 11 aps to graduate, so that’s how life goes.

Is this Basis or some other school that believes you just take AP classes and that’s HS?

No but it is USNEWS top 10. There’s definitely a lot of AP classes, but students take other things. I see it as no different than heavy IB schools.

That’s because USNEWS generally ranks on how many AP classes kids take (and how many offered).

You will get a high USNEWS ranking if you make kids take lots of AP classes.

It’s been ranked #1 by many different sources. The school is just good lol. Half the teachers have the qualification to teach college. I know people here hate public schools, but the top 10 are great schools that are at the top of the game.

Many parents here are pay to play, and can’t believe that public education is worth its salt. The top magnet programs blow private schools out of the water. The difference is that they aren’t filled with faculty children and legacies at Dartmouth and Uchicago to get easy admissions. The kids have to work for it.

The best magnet schools are the best because of the breadth and depth of post-AP classes…not because they require you take 11…and many actually don’t offer many of the non-core, random APs.

Tell that to Stuyvesant, IMSA, Bronx Sci, Brooklyn Tech, Downtown Magnet, TESLA, TAG, Masterman, and Academic Magnet.

You’re really only speaking on TJ. Many magnets are filled to the brim with AP classes.

Nope. Here's IMSA catalog for example:
https://www.imsa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LO-24-25UNOFFFeb_UPDATE3.pdf

Mostly non-AP.
Teachers at most of these schools would be bored and embarrassed teaching AP.

Isn’t IMSA a boarding school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look…did your kid just want to be valedictorian? Colleges don’t care if you take AP Physics 1 or 2 if you take Physics C.

They don’t really care about Art History or Human Geography or other non-core AP classes either.

I guess if that’s the route you want to take…and have no idea what else the school offers…but it’s overkill.

Or maybe you shouldn’t comment without asking better context?
Some of these were required- if you wanted to take C:E&M you had to take Phys 1 and 2. His school has one of the highest Ap Art history course enrollments in the world- got an award for it a few years ago, students take it for fun, usually sophomore year and the teacher is awesome. Human geo was a requirement. Some of those “non core ap”s are out of interest, others are requirements.

The school requires 11 aps to graduate, so that’s how life goes.

Is this Basis or some other school that believes you just take AP classes and that’s HS?

No but it is USNEWS top 10. There’s definitely a lot of AP classes, but students take other things. I see it as no different than heavy IB schools.

That’s because USNEWS generally ranks on how many AP classes kids take (and how many offered).

You will get a high USNEWS ranking if you make kids take lots of AP classes.

It’s been ranked #1 by many different sources. The school is just good lol. Half the teachers have the qualification to teach college. I know people here hate public schools, but the top 10 are great schools that are at the top of the game.

Many parents here are pay to play, and can’t believe that public education is worth its salt. The top magnet programs blow private schools out of the water. The difference is that they aren’t filled with faculty children and legacies at Dartmouth and Uchicago to get easy admissions. The kids have to work for it.

The best magnet schools are the best because of the breadth and depth of post-AP classes…not because they require you take 11…and many actually don’t offer many of the non-core, random APs.

Tell that to Stuyvesant, IMSA, Bronx Sci, Brooklyn Tech, Downtown Magnet, TESLA, TAG, Masterman, and Academic Magnet.

You’re really only speaking on TJ. Many magnets are filled to the brim with AP classes.

Fine…but is their model to require lots of random non-core APs? Don’t they have robust post-AP offerings?

Depends on the school…? Some schools will just have loads of APs, not really a bad model and those schools tend to have teachers doing post-AP content in the AP courses. Others like IMSA, offer robust post Math APs, but really most magnet schools don’t have much content beyond Linear Algebra/MVC.

How is it that TJ and I think Blair are such exceptional Magnet schools?

Even some of our local comprehensive public’s offer Linear Algebra and MVC.

Students at most magnets have to work harder in a wider map of courses typically? They also dominate competitions and other competitive activities, because the students are just better.

It’s cool that 5 kids at the local school can take dual credit linear algebra, but to have a high volume of those students and get them to all excel is impressive.

It’s not Dual Credit…it’s taught at the school to classes of 20+ kids.

However, you didn’t answer why TJ is I guess so much more comprehensive than other magnet schools.

I guess we are spoiled in this area.

DC doesn’t have that competitive of a scene. New York, LA, and the Texas cities (specifically Dallas and Houston) are much more competitive with better schools. In each of those places, magnet schools are the top schools next to privates. It’s to do with the amount of highly intelligent students concentrated in one place.

I don’t even know what that means…but TJ does offer robust post-AP classes in Math and STEM.

You still aren’t answering why they don’t offer the breadth and depth of a TJ.

TJ is only one magnet school. You’re asking why every stem college isn’t exactly like MIT. I don’t know that’s their decision. If you’re interested look at IMSA, SEM, Debakey Science, and Whitney Young’s webpages. They can answer more than me

Following one of your suggestions, they clearly offer post-AP math:
https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/89866

Looks like just one post-AP math class.

Hey, this is DCUM…again I guess we should be really thankful for Blair and TJ…I thought it was the same experience at all these top Magnets. It’s not I guess.

I think TJ is one of the only places that does that many post AP math courses. Most high schools expect more breadth

Blair does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look…did your kid just want to be valedictorian? Colleges don’t care if you take AP Physics 1 or 2 if you take Physics C.

They don’t really care about Art History or Human Geography or other non-core AP classes either.

I guess if that’s the route you want to take…and have no idea what else the school offers…but it’s overkill.

Or maybe you shouldn’t comment without asking better context?
Some of these were required- if you wanted to take C:E&M you had to take Phys 1 and 2. His school has one of the highest Ap Art history course enrollments in the world- got an award for it a few years ago, students take it for fun, usually sophomore year and the teacher is awesome. Human geo was a requirement. Some of those “non core ap”s are out of interest, others are requirements.

The school requires 11 aps to graduate, so that’s how life goes.

Is this Basis or some other school that believes you just take AP classes and that’s HS?

No but it is USNEWS top 10. There’s definitely a lot of AP classes, but students take other things. I see it as no different than heavy IB schools.

That’s because USNEWS generally ranks on how many AP classes kids take (and how many offered).

You will get a high USNEWS ranking if you make kids take lots of AP classes.

It’s been ranked #1 by many different sources. The school is just good lol. Half the teachers have the qualification to teach college. I know people here hate public schools, but the top 10 are great schools that are at the top of the game.

Many parents here are pay to play, and can’t believe that public education is worth its salt. The top magnet programs blow private schools out of the water. The difference is that they aren’t filled with faculty children and legacies at Dartmouth and Uchicago to get easy admissions. The kids have to work for it.

The best magnet schools are the best because of the breadth and depth of post-AP classes…not because they require you take 11…and many actually don’t offer many of the non-core, random APs.

Tell that to Stuyvesant, IMSA, Bronx Sci, Brooklyn Tech, Downtown Magnet, TESLA, TAG, Masterman, and Academic Magnet.

You’re really only speaking on TJ. Many magnets are filled to the brim with AP classes.

Fine…but is their model to require lots of random non-core APs? Don’t they have robust post-AP offerings?

Depends on the school…? Some schools will just have loads of APs, not really a bad model and those schools tend to have teachers doing post-AP content in the AP courses. Others like IMSA, offer robust post Math APs, but really most magnet schools don’t have much content beyond Linear Algebra/MVC.

How is it that TJ and I think Blair are such exceptional Magnet schools?

Even some of our local comprehensive public’s offer Linear Algebra and MVC.

Students at most magnets have to work harder in a wider map of courses typically? They also dominate competitions and other competitive activities, because the students are just better.

It’s cool that 5 kids at the local school can take dual credit linear algebra, but to have a high volume of those students and get them to all excel is impressive.

It’s not Dual Credit…it’s taught at the school to classes of 20+ kids.

However, you didn’t answer why TJ is I guess so much more comprehensive than other magnet schools.

I guess we are spoiled in this area.

DC doesn’t have that competitive of a scene. New York, LA, and the Texas cities (specifically Dallas and Houston) are much more competitive with better schools. In each of those places, magnet schools are the top schools next to privates. It’s to do with the amount of highly intelligent students concentrated in one place.

I don’t even know what that means…but TJ does offer robust post-AP classes in Math and STEM.

You still aren’t answering why they don’t offer the breadth and depth of a TJ.

TJ is only one magnet school. You’re asking why every stem college isn’t exactly like MIT. I don’t know that’s their decision. If you’re interested look at IMSA, SEM, Debakey Science, and Whitney Young’s webpages. They can answer more than me

Following one of your suggestions, they clearly offer post-AP math:
https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/89866

Looks like just one post-AP math class.

Hey, this is DCUM…again I guess we should be really thankful for Blair and TJ…I thought it was the same experience at all these top Magnets. It’s not I guess.

I think TJ is one of the only places that does that many post AP math courses. Most high schools expect more breadth

Blair does

How far apart are these schools? You know there’s other schools in the US?

[Anonymous]

Glad my kids' school allows a max of 2 APs per year. I don't see what's so great about a curriculum dictated by the College Board

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad my kids' school allows a max of 2 APs per year. I don't see what's so great about a curriculum dictated by the College Board

Who then should be "dictating" the curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Is it unusual for high schools to have teachers with PhDs? Just curious, as a few people mentioned it upthread.

My kid is not at a magnet school, just a regular suburban public HS with a diverse population, and has already had a fair amount of teachers with doctorates - science, math, history off the top of my head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My DC’s private school requires the honors version of science classes before the AP version. So honors Bio in 9th, honors Chem in 10th and honors Physics in 11th. You can take the AP versions in 11th as an elective and another as your 12th grade science. I thought this was commonplace. So some schools let you go straight to AP bio, etc without ever taking biology in high school? Kids also have to take Calc AB before Calc BC. I am realizing that allowing a ton of APs from 9th grade and without pre-requisites or applications into the AP classes is also a form of grade inflation!

I cannot imagine taking AP Bio or AP Chem as your first BIo/Chem class in HS. Our HS requires you to take the regular course first.
IMO, it's time to remember these kids are HS aged, not College students. Goal is to actually learn material. Really there is no need for AP Bio in 9th grade. My kid did Bio in 8th, Chem in 9th, then Physics in 10th, then started AP science in 11th (AP Chem in 11 and AP Physics C Mech in 12). Did not have a learning gap at a T30 university as an Chem Eng major. As Eng major, they actually need to understand most of those courses, so it's about actual learning, not "getting credit to never take another science/math course in college"

the point is to save money.

All good if you are using that AP credit for non-major requirements. But if your kid is going into STEM/Engineering/Health sciences, they might just need to actually learn the material in AP Chem/AP Bio/AP Calc. I'd prefer my kid learn the material they actually need to know for their major.

Ironically, my kid's top 2 final choices for college were schools that do NOT allow AP credit for the "general education". So had my kid toiled over APUSH/AP Eng/APGovt, none of it would have mattered. My kid has to take Core Curriculum courses at their university.
They can however use up to 4 AP courses for major credits (and more than 4 are allowed, you just have to replace the course with a more advanced course at the university)

Yeah, who needs to know how government works?

The classes are obsolete anyway, blabbing about electoral college, when we all know that the President is decided by whoever captures the flag in the rotunda.

Parents here are extraordinarily bitter and anti-intellectual. Anyone who’s interested in hard classes is an Ap junkie with no interesting characteristics. Anyone who’s a nerd is asocial and can’t have a personality. It’s a really gross culture, and you can tell many of these parents’ children are riding off of the fact that they’re athletes.

Luckily, once the nerds and AP junkies are attending their ivy, they have tons of their people all around and can finally feel normal. They are not antisocial and their nerdiness is similar to 75% of the others. We are so grateful for our kids ivy and the real friends they have made. Intellectualism is celebrated and nerds rule there. Finally they can be themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it unusual for high schools to have teachers with PhDs? Just curious, as a few people mentioned it upthread.

My kid is not at a magnet school, just a regular suburban public HS with a diverse population, and has already had a fair amount of teachers with doctorates - science, math, history off the top of my head.

Our top private (but not top 100 in the country) had phDs teaching AP chem, physicsC, multivariable, organic chem, advanced literature seminar and more. And the private pays far more than public HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it unusual for high schools to have teachers with PhDs? Just curious, as a few people mentioned it upthread.

My kid is not at a magnet school, just a regular suburban public HS with a diverse population, and has already had a fair amount of teachers with doctorates - science, math, history off the top of my head.

Our top private (but not top 100 in the country) had phDs teaching AP chem, physicsC, multivariable, organic chem, advanced literature seminar and more. And the private pays far more than public HS

There's a science teacher at Pyle Middle School with a PhD.