If AP scores don’t matter, why offer the test at all?

[Anonymous]

Bringing this over from a discussion that started on the SAT thread.

I’ve seen many people on DCUM claim that scores on AP exams don’t matter and are irrelevant to admissions.

I disagree, and think that in this test optional era AP scores should, and in fact do, matter a great deal.

We live in an era of rampant AP cours inflation and grade inflation in America’s public high schools. No one knows what a 4.0 even means anymore, and don’t get me started on the various absurd weighting schemes.

My own view is that regardless of the name of a class on a high school transcript, students should get no “AP bonus” in admissions unless they 1) actually take the test; and 2) achieve a score of 4 or 5 and 3) report this score to the school where they are seeking admission.

Like the ACT/ SAT, actual AP Exam scores provide important objective context to widely disparate high school quality and grading standards. It seems insane for students not to offer, and for colleges not to demand, this context. A B-average kid with several 4a and 5s reported is always going to look more impressive to me than a “straight A” student in multiple “AP” classes who doesn’t report a single high exam score.

As with college credit itself, the AP admissions standard should be: no test, no credit. If you claim to have taken a bunch of AP classes and gotten all As, but don’t report a single good AP exam score, I think it is a fair assumption that either grading standards or curricular rigor at your high school are low.

[Anonymous]

While Ap scores don’t matter much in admissions, they are usually the standard that schools use for determining college credit for those scores. My daughter will likely graduate a semester early because of all the credits she earned in Ap tests. That will save us thousands in college costs. So not meaningless.

[Anonymous]

Of course they matter. Both for admissions AND for college credit. GPAs are difficult to recalculate, given how different school systems deal with grades. So test scores, SAT, ACT, AP and IB, are very useful to determine actual academic standing.

[Anonymous]

Taking AP *classes* helps with admissions because it shows rigor. Taking AP *tests* helps with credit/placement once matriculated. And a few schools are test-flexible, so you can submit AP scores instead of SAT/ACT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taking AP *classes* helps with admissions because it shows rigor. Taking AP *tests* helps with credit/placement once matriculated. And a few schools are test-flexible, so you can submit AP scores instead of SAT/ACT.

Yes, but the point of the post is that merely taking AP classes- without also taking the exam and recording a good score- doesn’t show anything with respect to rigor.

An AP class without an exam score is like a no-doc mortgage or a liar loan. Maybe you are doing college level work- but who really knows?

To get an admissions bonus, students ought to be required to take the test and report scores.

[Anonymous]

At my DC’s private school you are required to take the AP tests or you fail the class. I imagine they can’t do that in public school because of the test fees.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can absolutely report AP scores on the common app testing section for admissions purposes. They matter.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused. Do T25 schools not look at or consider AP scores in assessing/comparing academic achievment, readiness, or rigor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taking AP *classes* helps with admissions because it shows rigor. Taking AP *tests* helps with credit/placement once matriculated. And a few schools are test-flexible, so you can submit AP scores instead of SAT/ACT.

Some AP teachers are ridiculously lax, which shows when their students score really low on their exam. So no, any admissions officer who believes this is not worth their salary. The exam score should be the only indicator that the class was taught and understood in the right way.

[Anonymous]

NP. Stanford is now requiring all AP scores, so they must mean something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bringing this over from a discussion that started on the SAT thread.

I’ve seen many people on DCUM claim that scores on AP exams don’t matter and are irrelevant to admissions.

I disagree, and think that in this test optional era AP scores should, and in fact do, matter a great deal.

We live in an era of rampant AP cours inflation and grade inflation in America’s public high schools. No one knows what a 4.0 even means anymore, and don’t get me started on the various absurd weighting schemes.

My own view is that regardless of the name of a class on a high school transcript, students should get no “AP bonus” in admissions unless they 1) actually take the test; and 2) achieve a score of 4 or 5 and 3) report this score to the school where they are seeking admission.

Like the ACT/ SAT, actual AP Exam scores provide important objective context to widely disparate high school quality and grading standards. It seems insane for students not to offer, and for colleges not to demand, this context. A B-average kid with several 4a and 5s reported is always going to look more impressive to me than a “straight A” student in multiple “AP” classes who doesn’t report a single high exam score.

As with college credit itself, the AP admissions standard should be: no test, no credit. If you claim to have taken a bunch of AP classes and gotten all As, but don’t report a single good AP exam score, I think it is a fair assumption that either grading standards or curricular rigor at your high school are low.

OK.

[Anonymous]

i’m not reading all of that

i’m happy for you

or sorry that happened

[Anonymous]

I know many kids who got straight A's in AP courses and then scored a 2 on the official exam. Of course they don't report that to colleges. There is rampant grade inflation, multiple test retakes, etc. If kids take AP classes, I think they should be required to take and report the AP exam, particularly if they get to benefit from a weighted gpa boost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i’m not reading all of that

i’m happy for you

or sorry that happened

[Anonymous]

They can't be required to take the test. The test costs money.