Question from AP teacher

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher in a high school in FCPS teaching AP classes taken mostly by seniors but also few juniors (and very rarely sophomores). I want to know parents opinion about this: do you prefer the AP class assessments/grading to be designed so that most students pass the class with a decent grade but only 65-70% or so pass the AP exam OR do you prefer the students’ grades in class and AP grades to be the same for most students (C in class gets at least a 3 on AP exam, B in class gets at least a 4 on AP exam, A in class pretty much a guarantee of a 5 on AP exam). Obviously, in both cases there will be unhappy students/parents. But I want to head opinions and arguments Freon each side. Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

I want an appropriate class with appropriate assignments and a teacher who goes out of their way to help kids be successful.

[Anonymous]

Define appropriate? Define successful? Both options described assume a teacher provided enough structure and support for students to succeed. But trying to figure out if it is best to have students have better grades even if I know AP scores will lower than they would expect based on course grade or keep the level of assessments in line with AP. With the second option, there are more drops in the first quarter - students who really were not prepared for class and/or are not willing to put in work quickly realize they cannot survive the class.

[Anonymous]

Prepared for the exam and appropriate for an AP class. If all your students are struggling look at your teaching style to start with. The big problem is may kids aren't taught note taking, study skills and how to take tests. My child is on their first AP class and we are so fortunate that they are not only teaching the curriculum but study skills and that teacher has been a huge blessing. You need to teach them in a way they can pass both the class and AP test.

[Anonymous]

The second option

[Anonymous]

It depends on the school where you are teaching AP. Is it a school where everyone is encouraged to take this AP class or only the top students take the AP test like AP Calculus AB or BC or AP Chemistry? If really all the seniors are taking this AP class then yes have a spread of grades.

However, if it is really made up of students who have always been in honors classes then as a parent I much prefer that almost all the students receive A's and B's regardless of the pass rate on the test.

There is a APUSH teacher at my son's school which is a school where only the top students are tracked into APUSH. They have always been top students yet the AP History teacher feels that an A is equivalent to a 5, a B a 4, and a c is a 3. So on most recent APUSH tests only around ten percent of students nationwide got a 5 so his reasoning is he only gives around 10 percent of students an A. I think this is ridiculous. All these students are going to college and no way if they took a freshman college US history class 90% of them are getting B's or lower. At least 50% would get A's.

[Anonymous]

Are you a first year teacher? Why else would you be asking parents to make instructional decisions for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want an appropriate class with appropriate assignments and a teacher who goes out of their way to help kids be successful.

I want the above, but please don’t go out of your way to do it. These kids are in AP. They should be going out of their way to be successful. Teacher, please don’t burn out. We need you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you a first year teacher? Why else would you be asking parents to make instructional decisions for you.

+1 from a different AP teacher. Ask other teachers at your school how it works. You're not the first to teach this class.

[Anonymous]

They get the grade they earn. Period. These kids should be very capable students.

[Anonymous]

For purposes of college admissions, your second option. Better to have higher grade. If student wants to have AP high score, they study additionally out of class anyway.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you are asking if 30-35% of college bound kids should get a D or F, because that’s the percent that fail the AP from you class? No. That’s ridiculous. A D or F takes a bunch of colleges off the table for juniors and can get a senior rescinded.

It depends on the subject and the high school. Physics C at TJ and AP ES at a bottom of the pack school are different things. AP Lang/Lit is core while psychology and HUG are often electives. Those things matter.

Some APs have a 50-60% fail rate some years. But, I would still wonder about a teacher where 30-35% of college bound FCPS at a HS in the top half of the pack are failing. That seems like weak teaching.

If you can get more kids to pass, absolutely do. But not sure why this requires a 4 to be a B vs, say, an A-? Or why kids who can demonstrate mastery but don’t do high pressure testing well should get a C or D when it would be an A or B I’d you pulled “aligns with AP score” out of the mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want an appropriate class with appropriate assignments and a teacher who goes out of their way to help kids be successful.

I want the above, but please don’t go out of your way to do it. These kids are in AP. They should be going out of their way to be successful. Teacher, please don’t burn out. We need you.

Kids are burning out too. And yes, they chose to take AP. But for some colleges, they don’t really get a choice. They have to take core APs to even be considered. It’s a terrible system, and I wish schools would limit APs (1 in 10th, 2-3 in 11th, 3 in 12th). If that were the case and not most kids need a dozen for UVA/ WM, I’d be more in favor of tough grading.

[Anonymous]

Mine had a very hard grader. Got a C in the class, but got a 5 on the AP exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine had a very hard grader. Got a C in the class, but got a 5 on the AP exam.

That would a foolish teacher, not a hard grader.