Taking an AP exam in middle school?

[Anonymous]

Did anyone's child take any AP exam in middle school? I am talking about studying for an exam independently, without taking a class.

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine the point at all

[Anonymous]

I’m also wondering why you would do this. If the goal is for college applications, I’m not even positive if it would show up. Which class is it? There’s a lot of APs that are essentially worthless for college credit or placement. I am trying to game out different ways on which this might make sense and I’m just not seeing any.

[Anonymous]

Child craves challenge, bored in school, it's their favorite subject.

[Anonymous]

no that is the epitome of striver.
my dd had a friend whose mom had her taking the SAT from the age of 13 every summer. Also pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m also wondering why you would do this. If the goal is for college applications, I’m not even positive if it would show up. Which class is it? There’s a lot of APs that are essentially worthless for college credit or placement. I am trying to game out different ways on which this might make sense and I’m just not seeing any.

It's not for college placement. It's for placement in HS so that they can skip the easy classes. It's one of the science APs.

[Anonymous]

I think that’s a stupid idea. Wait until 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

ASK MCPS WHETHER THEY WILL ACCEPT THIS AS SUBSTITUTION FOR THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT IN THAT CLASS.

This happened to a family we know. Kid took AP Bio in 8th because they're passionate about that subject, and MCPS refuses to accept the class/exam they took as a substitute for the graduation requirement. Kid will have to retake AP Bio sometime in their high school career. Family is completely bummed. Kid participates in outside competitions in biology, got the top score on the exam, is generally an excellent student, etc... but no dice.

Also, for college admissions, I read somewhere that APs count only if they're taken in the past 4 years, which would exclude courses taken in middle school. But maybe that depends on the college.

My high schooler is bored, too, OP, if it's any consolation. She's on track to take 14 APs and it's still too easy. But doing things early is sometimes not the answer, so please do your due diligence. A better solution would be to find interesting extra-curriculars in which to shine...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ASK MCPS WHETHER THEY WILL ACCEPT THIS AS SUBSTITUTION FOR THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT IN THAT CLASS.

This happened to a family we know. Kid took AP Bio in 8th because they're passionate about that subject, and MCPS refuses to accept the class/exam they took as a substitute for the graduation requirement. Kid will have to retake AP Bio sometime in their high school career. Family is completely bummed. Kid participates in outside competitions in biology, got the top score on the exam, is generally an excellent student, etc... but no dice.

Also, for college admissions, I read somewhere that APs count only if they're taken in the past 4 years, which would exclude courses taken in middle school. But maybe that depends on the college.

My high schooler is bored, too, OP, if it's any consolation. She's on track to take 14 APs and it's still too easy. But doing things early is sometimes not the answer, so please do your due diligence. A better solution would be to find interesting extra-curriculars in which to shine...

PP - thank you. can they take the more advanced bio classes to satisfy that requirement? like, electives that have AP bio as a prerequisite?

this is basically the motivation for my child - that they would be able to jump into more advanced classes that seem interesting to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ASK MCPS WHETHER THEY WILL ACCEPT THIS AS SUBSTITUTION FOR THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT IN THAT CLASS.

This happened to a family we know. Kid took AP Bio in 8th because they're passionate about that subject, and MCPS refuses to accept the class/exam they took as a substitute for the graduation requirement. Kid will have to retake AP Bio sometime in their high school career. Family is completely bummed. Kid participates in outside competitions in biology, got the top score on the exam, is generally an excellent student, etc... but no dice.

Also, for college admissions, I read somewhere that APs count only if they're taken in the past 4 years, which would exclude courses taken in middle school. But maybe that depends on the college.

My high schooler is bored, too, OP, if it's any consolation. She's on track to take 14 APs and it's still too easy. But doing things early is sometimes not the answer, so please do your due diligence. A better solution would be to find interesting extra-curriculars in which to shine...

PP - thank you. can they take the more advanced bio classes to satisfy that requirement? like, electives that have AP bio as a prerequisite?

this is basically the motivation for my child - that they would be able to jump into more advanced classes that seem interesting to them.

I will ask the parent. It's hard to fit the science stuff kids want to do, even when taking Health in the summer, because of the double periods and the prereqs.

[Anonymous]

The hardest part is finding a testing center to take the exam. It seems like it would be really easy, but it is NOT if your school doesn't offer the exam. Most schools only let their own students take the exam. If you can find a test center, then go ahead.

If you can find a center and your child likes the subject go for it! If they don't like their score, you can cancel any AP score. This is the form from the college boardhttps://apstudents.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap-score-cancellation-form.pdf:

"Please cancel my AP score. I understand that once I request a cancellation, the score will never be available, and it will never be listed on any future score reports".

Plenty of homeschoolers have their kids take AP tests in middle school including Calculus. Keep in mind if your child is UNDER 13 you can't sign up online for a college board account, you have to send in a paper copy.

If you say what subject it is, people may be able to point out some good resources. And do you want a recommendation for an online AP class to have some structure? How much are you willing to spend for an online class or your child prefers to self-study?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ASK MCPS WHETHER THEY WILL ACCEPT THIS AS SUBSTITUTION FOR THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENT IN THAT CLASS.

This happened to a family we know. Kid took AP Bio in 8th because they're passionate about that subject, and MCPS refuses to accept the class/exam they took as a substitute for the graduation requirement. Kid will have to retake AP Bio sometime in their high school career. Family is completely bummed. Kid participates in outside competitions in biology, got the top score on the exam, is generally an excellent student, etc... but no dice.

Also, for college admissions, I read somewhere that APs count only if they're taken in the past 4 years, which would exclude courses taken in middle school. But maybe that depends on the college.

My high schooler is bored, too, OP, if it's any consolation. She's on track to take 14 APs and it's still too easy. But doing things early is sometimes not the answer, so please do your due diligence. A better solution would be to find interesting extra-curriculars in which to shine...

PP - thank you. can they take the more advanced bio classes to satisfy that requirement? like, electives that have AP bio as a prerequisite?

this is basically the motivation for my child - that they would be able to jump into more advanced classes that seem interesting to them.

I will ask the parent. It's hard to fit the science stuff kids want to do, even when taking Health in the summer, because of the double periods and the prereqs.

yes!! thank you.

[Anonymous]

There's no magical better class offered.

If they get ahead, just stay ahead by studying advanced material when in the next class, or skip the class it's elective and take the AP exam in high school anyway.
Take online class or commit college class if you get past high school level.

Apply for a magnet high school to keep them challenged in high school.

[Anonymous]

If the kid wants to keep getting ahead, then take more advanced exams than the mediocre-level AP exams: take the USA science/math Olympiads, quiz bowls, essay contests, and other academic extracurricular exams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Child craves challenge, bored in school, it's their favorite subject.

You have asked this here before and the consensus was and is that it's a stupid idea.