AP 3 in a sea of 4/5s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in public and private.

My daughter goes to a top Dc private and took one AP exam. 95% of the class received a 4 or 5 (per the school). the average student got a B in the class (my kid included). there were a handful of As and a handful of Cs.
The grading is just entirely different than public.

It would be seriously alarming if things weren't different at a "top DC private" where the high school charges $52,000 a year in tuition and can choose whom to accept. I'm glad you seem to believe you're getting your money's worth, but why are you posting about it on the MCPS forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have kids in public and private.

My daughter goes to a top Dc private and took one AP exam. 95% of the class received a 4 or 5 (per the school). the average student got a B in the class (my kid included). there were a handful of As and a handful of Cs.
The grading is just entirely different than public.

It would be seriously alarming if things weren't different at a "top DC private" where the high school charges $52,000 a year in tuition and can choose whom to accept. I'm glad you seem to believe you're getting your money's worth, but why are you posting about it on the MCPS forum?

Because I have two other kids in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.

Doing well on an AP exam is not an indication of college preparation. Most college exams look nothing like a standardized test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.

Doing well on an AP exam is not an indication of college preparation. Most college exams look nothing like a standardized test.

I doubt that you have seen any AP exams and I doubt that you currently have any kids in college. Otherwise you would not say this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.

Doing well on an AP exam is not an indication of college preparation. Most college exams look nothing like a standardized test.

I doubt that you have seen any AP exams and I doubt that you currently have any kids in college. Otherwise you would not say this.

Ok, I just asked my MCPS-graduate kid who is in college at UMD whether they have taken any tests in college that were like the AP tests, and they said, "Yes, like, there are tests that have multiple choice questions and then free response questions."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.

Doing well on an AP exam is not an indication of college preparation. Most college exams look nothing like a standardized test.

This is false. Why post when you don’t know anything about the topic. Colleges like to see AP courses on transcripts because they indicate strong preparation for college. AP readers include a mix of HS teachers and college professors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend’s daughter goes to a public charter school in DC that exists to prepare kids to do well on the AP exams, according to her mom. Students cram all year and grades in class are based on their performance on practice tests. She was shocked when I said my kid had not taken a single practice exam but had been doing well in class and was studying independently. A totally different approach with different results (and a limited data set admittedly). Her kid scored 5s on all three exams she took this year as a ninth grader. My kid scored a 3.

I assume your friend's daughter attends Basis. Mine does as well, and they do several practice tests during the year. The final grade for the course is affected by the AP score, so any kid scoring a 1 or 2 who previously had an A in the class would end up with a B or lower. Basis does a great job of preparing kids for AP tests and making sure that they study enough to get a high score. My DD also got a 5 in AP US Gov in 9th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend’s daughter goes to a public charter school in DC that exists to prepare kids to do well on the AP exams, according to her mom. Students cram all year and grades in class are based on their performance on practice tests. She was shocked when I said my kid had not taken a single practice exam but had been doing well in class and was studying independently. A totally different approach with different results (and a limited data set admittedly). Her kid scored 5s on all three exams she took this year as a ninth grader. My kid scored a 3.

I assume your friend's daughter attends Basis. Mine does as well, and they do several practice tests during the year. The final grade for the course is affected by the AP score, so any kid scoring a 1 or 2 who previously had an A in the class would end up with a B or lower. Basis does a great job of preparing kids for AP tests and making sure that they study enough to get a high score. My DD also got a 5 in AP US Gov in 9th grade.

That seems like quite a narrow focus for an education. But if you're happy with it for your child, that's good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend’s daughter goes to a public charter school in DC that exists to prepare kids to do well on the AP exams, according to her mom. Students cram all year and grades in class are based on their performance on practice tests. She was shocked when I said my kid had not taken a single practice exam but had been doing well in class and was studying independently. A totally different approach with different results (and a limited data set admittedly). Her kid scored 5s on all three exams she took this year as a ninth grader. My kid scored a 3.

I assume your friend's daughter attends Basis. Mine does as well, and they do several practice tests during the year. The final grade for the course is affected by the AP score, so any kid scoring a 1 or 2 who previously had an A in the class would end up with a B or lower. Basis does a great job of preparing kids for AP tests and making sure that they study enough to get a high score. My DD also got a 5 in AP US Gov in 9th grade.

Yes it was Basis. My friend was actually concerned about the approach and felt the constant prep was a turn off, but those kids were prepared for the exams, there’s no denying that.

[Anonymous]

OP here with another data point. DD’s best friend had the same teacher, studied with DD (and not additionally) and got a B in the class whereas DD got an A. Her friend got a 5 on the exam and DD got a 3. Their preparation was nearly identical. DD clearly needs to address the disconnect. As mentioned previously, her inability to show what she knows on exams isn’t new. I just don’t know how to help her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here with another data point. DD’s best friend had the same teacher, studied with DD (and not additionally) and got a B in the class whereas DD got an A. Her friend got a 5 on the exam and DD got a 3. Their preparation was nearly identical. DD clearly needs to address the disconnect. As mentioned previously, her inability to show what she knows on exams isn’t new. I just don’t know how to help her.

Thanks for the update. It puts things in perspective.
Maybe your DD has test anxiety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here with another data point. DD’s best friend had the same teacher, studied with DD (and not additionally) and got a B in the class whereas DD got an A. Her friend got a 5 on the exam and DD got a 3. Their preparation was nearly identical. DD clearly needs to address the disconnect. As mentioned previously, her inability to show what she knows on exams isn’t new. I just don’t know how to help her.

Thanks for the update. It puts things in perspective.
Maybe your DD has test anxiety?

She does and has a 504 Plan for anxiety that we got for her in the 5th grade. I’d hoped she would outgrow her supports as she got more experience with tests. The extra time helps, but she still swirls with all the possibilities on multiple choice tests. She does well on essays or short narrative responses. She just started with self-paced Magoosh to prep for the ACT and hopefully that will help her with test strategy. Thank goodness for test optional but that only solves the college admission part. Testing is part of life.

I’ve considered talking to her doctor about Propanolol for test anxiety (DH and I both take it for public speaking and interviews). But I’m not sure if that’s recommended at her age.

[Anonymous]

OP and I wanted to clarify that I’m not concerned that 3 is a bad score. It’s the disconnect that I’m trying to decipher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP and I wanted to clarify that I’m not concerned that 3 is a bad score. It’s the disconnect that I’m trying to decipher.

I would get her a tutor, one for each subject she struggles with. My DS has tutors and it makes a world of difference. And it's better that he learn how to study from them than to take a bunch of drugs.

[Anonymous]

Same happened to my kid. Top performer in AP Gov class, studied way too much, and got a disappointing 3. I think the pressure took DC down. This year DC didn’t study at all for the APs as they didn’t see any benefit last year. Got 4s this year with zero exam prep beyond class work.