How did your HS Freshman perform on AP exams?

[Anonymous]

09:52 again. My son is a rising senior, and with hindsight, I can see that the grade in the class only reflects the potential AP score IF the teacher is an experienced and intelligent teacher. There are two components to an AP class: teaching the material, and preparing students for the test. If you do the former but not the latter, given that a lot of the AP tests required responses written in a specific way, the student will not do well on the test.

After that difficult first pandemic year, my son had a mix of excellent teachers, and 2 duds, who did not prepare him adequately. But with experience, he could tell that he was not being prepared, and we hired tutors to bolster those two classes. That's because my son is a perfectionist, and he hates not having a top score. Otherwise obviously I'd have saved my money!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else think this is a sign that something is off? Full disclosure, I think you should have to sit for the exam to receive AP credit (I think school districts should pay for it). To get the GPA and rigor bump of an AP but not be prepared for the test makes no sense to me.

This is a systemic problem - so understand why kids would not subject themselves to the test if it doesn’t matter - but I think it devalues the AP distinction.

Agree. It’s the AP arms race at its finest. Thank you, Jay Matthews and the Challenge Index. Combine that with grade inflation and easy standards and this is the result: kids getting As in the class but 3 or under on the exam.

Full disclosure for me is that my kids go to private schools that do not offer APs. I feel very strongly that the CB has their hooks in our education system and is laughing all the way to the bank. I get it, though, if your school offers AP, you basically have to take it for college purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS who was straight A grades all year in APUSH and he studied like a demon for the exam, only got a 3

It's called grade inflation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine scored a 3 on AP CS and Seminar- ouch!

A 3 is passing. It's what most people are expected to get.

[Anonymous]

my kid's Big3 private had all kids score 5 in APUSH and these kids had a mix of A, A-, B+ and B in the class. public school kids getting straight As in the class and then a 3 on the exam speaks to crazy grade inflation. I also have a rising high schooler in public and a foot in both worlds.

[Anonymous]

My freshman barely passed AP World but pulled a 3 on the exam. Very happy about that! Obviously no grade inflation at DC's school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS who was straight A grades all year in APUSH and he studied like a demon for the exam, only got a 3

It's called grade inflation.

Different poster but same happened to my DC despite all practice tests on multiple choice being 5 or high 4. Not sure if there was test anxiety or it was the essays. My kid knew the material deeply. But they’ve not learned to write well in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my kid's Big3 private had all kids score 5 in APUSH and these kids had a mix of A, A-, B+ and B in the class. public school kids getting straight As in the class and then a 3 on the exam speaks to crazy grade inflation. I also have a rising high schooler in public and a foot in both worlds.

Not a freshmen but my kid’s private has kids take APUSH but they don’t have an AP class. Kid got a 5, which is pretty typical, I think.

[Anonymous]

5 on Euro History!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:09:52 again. My son is a rising senior, and with hindsight, I can see that the grade in the class only reflects the potential AP score IF the teacher is an experienced and intelligent teacher. There are two components to an AP class: teaching the material, and preparing students for the test. If you do the former but not the latter, given that a lot of the AP tests required responses written in a specific way, the student will not do well on the test.

After that difficult first pandemic year, my son had a mix of excellent teachers, and 2 duds, who did not prepare him adequately. But with experience, he could tell that he was not being prepared, and we hired tutors to bolster those two classes. That's because my son is a perfectionist, and he hates not having a top score. Otherwise obviously I'd have saved my money!

I have a kid who just graduated and a rising junior, and I agree with you about prepping for the test itself. My kids are in private and pre and post covid there was a lot of time spent on prepping for the actual AP test. The only AP my kid who just graduated did not get a 4 or 5 on was during Covid, and it was very hard to get through all the material that year, let alone prep for the test.

Other parents, if you are paying for your kids to take the test--and your kids teacher doesn't seem to focus on how to take the exam itself--it is worth it to have your kids do some prep for the exam (you can find free prep materials online).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else think this is a sign that something is off? Full disclosure, I think you should have to sit for the exam to receive AP credit (I think school districts should pay for it). To get the GPA and rigor bump of an AP but not be prepared for the test makes no sense to me.

This is a systemic problem - so understand why kids would not subject themselves to the test if it doesn’t matter - but I think it devalues the AP distinction.

Agree. It’s the AP arms race at its finest. Thank you, Jay Matthews and the Challenge Index. Combine that with grade inflation and easy standards and this is the result: kids getting As in the class but 3 or under on the exam.

Full disclosure for me is that my kids go to private schools that do not offer APs. I feel very strongly that the CB has their hooks in our education system and is laughing all the way to the bank. I get it, though, if your school offers AP, you basically have to take it for college purposes.

I don’t think you understand AP courses very well. Many of them have challenging and difficult content and give you a good foundation for college.
I would say it takes a few years to figure out how to optimally teach an AP course. So if you have a teacher who has taught it for 3 years or less, they could be doing their best but will likely fall short. It is often tricky to get the pacing right. It took me until year 5 when I felt I finally nailed it and my students scores dramatically improved. I also teach an AP course that is considered very difficult and has a low pass rate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My freshman barely passed AP World but pulled a 3 on the exam. Very happy about that! Obviously no grade inflation at DC's school.

Same with my DD (at a public school)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else think this is a sign that something is off? Full disclosure, I think you should have to sit for the exam to receive AP credit (I think school districts should pay for it). To get the GPA and rigor bump of an AP but not be prepared for the test makes no sense to me.

This is a systemic problem - so understand why kids would not subject themselves to the test if it doesn’t matter - but I think it devalues the AP distinction.

Agree. It’s the AP arms race at its finest. Thank you, Jay Matthews and the Challenge Index. Combine that with grade inflation and easy standards and this is the result: kids getting As in the class but 3 or under on the exam.

Full disclosure for me is that my kids go to private schools that do not offer APs. I feel very strongly that the CB has their hooks in our education system and is laughing all the way to the bank. I get it, though, if your school offers AP, you basically have to take it for college purposes.

I don’t think you understand AP courses very well. Many of them have challenging and difficult content and give you a good foundation for college.
I would say it takes a few years to figure out how to optimally teach an AP course. So if you have a teacher who has taught it for 3 years or less, they could be doing their best but will likely fall short. It is often tricky to get the pacing right. It took me until year 5 when I felt I finally nailed it and my students scores dramatically improved. I also teach an AP course that is considered very difficult and has a low pass rate

They give an excellent foundation for college. They wee designed by teams of college professors and high school teachers and are graded by these same groups. I regularly had my students come back to tell me their freshman and sophomore years of college were significantly easier for them than for their classmates who hadn't taken AP (or IB) classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else think this is a sign that something is off? Full disclosure, I think you should have to sit for the exam to receive AP credit (I think school districts should pay for it). To get the GPA and rigor bump of an AP but not be prepared for the test makes no sense to me.

This is a systemic problem - so understand why kids would not subject themselves to the test if it doesn’t matter - but I think it devalues the AP distinction.

Agree. It’s the AP arms race at its finest. Thank you, Jay Matthews and the Challenge Index. Combine that with grade inflation and easy standards and this is the result: kids getting As in the class but 3 or under on the exam.

Full disclosure for me is that my kids go to private schools that do not offer APs. I feel very strongly that the CB has their hooks in our education system and is laughing all the way to the bank. I get it, though, if your school offers AP, you basically have to take it for college purposes.

I don’t think you understand AP courses very well. Many of them have challenging and difficult content and give you a good foundation for college.
I would say it takes a few years to figure out how to optimally teach an AP course. So if you have a teacher who has taught it for 3 years or less, they could be doing their best but will likely fall short. It is often tricky to get the pacing right. It took me until year 5 when I felt I finally nailed it and my students scores dramatically improved. I also teach an AP course that is considered very difficult and has a low pass rate

My son just had World History taught by a very inexperienced, perhaps first-time, teacher. He was nice, but oh so bad! Most of the class lost all hope of a good grade or a good exam score. My son trudged on until the bitter end, squeaked by with a final grade of A (by the seat of his pants) and got a 5 in the exam. But it was a terrible experience compare to his other APs with experienced teachers. I only wish someone could give these new teachers more training right from the start, PP. When college admissions are on the line, it's not fair for AP students to get a dud teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have a kid whose scores are still “in progress?” Or if this happened to your child in a previous year how long did it take to get them?