Why do kids in "regular" courses get A's?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Dartmouth actually gives credit for more than 20 AP exam grades or 4 or 5 and exempts you from entry level work for others. You can look credit policies for every university on the College Board website https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/credit-policy-detail?diCode=3351&orgId=3300&name=Dartmouth%20College&address=Hanover%2C%20NH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you jealous of kids who get As in "regular" classes? To most colleges, an A is an A.

An A isn't an A. Of course colleges look to see if kids took AP and Honors classes. Do you really think that they are going to accept a kid with straight As taking automechanic and woodwork over a kid with As/Bs in Honors English and physics? You are out of your mind.

I don't disagree, but you went overboard. Do you really think a kid who mostly took Automechanics and Woodworking cares that much about college? The college track is the most easily definable career path to success, but it's not the only one.

Why are so many millenials pro-Sanders? Because he wants to erase their student loan debt. They took on tens of thousands of dollars worth of interest-bearing loans, studying subject which the market does not value.

BTW, a B.A. in English or Art History gets you the opportunity to scoop ice cream as a career. The (vocational!) skills to clean a refinery pipe will get you over $100K, and being a licensed plumber gets you $300 per hour on the weekends. You can't outsource that job, and it's about as much as I pay my child's psychiatrist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Dartmouth actually gives credit for more than 20 AP exam grades or 4 or 5 and exempts you from entry level work for others. You can look credit policies for every university on the College Board website https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/credit-policy-detail?diCode=3351&orgId=3300&name=Dartmouth%20College&address=Hanover%2C%20NH

Except those credits don't count towards the 35 you need at Dartmouth -- so what are they really worth?

"Credit on entrance appears on the Dartmouth transcript, however it does not count towards the 35 credits required to graduate."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Dartmouth actually gives credit for more than 20 AP exam grades or 4 or 5 and exempts you from entry level work for others. You can look credit policies for every university on the College Board website https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/credit-policy-detail?diCode=3351&orgId=3300&name=Dartmouth%20College&address=Hanover%2C%20NH

Jay Matthews just wrote about how a lot of schools don't like to accept credit from institutions other than their own:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dual-enrollment-high-school-programs-are-oversold-but-they-do-have-value/2016/09/18/c2faeb5c-7ba5-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html

Dartmouth may be an exception, but many of the better state universities have to have acceptance of HS work crammed down their throats by their respective state legislatures. They simply don't trust the quality of instruction.

[Anonymous]

I think OP is upset because her AP/Honors kid got a B in the AP class and her kid's friend, in normal class, got an A and now she can't brag as much because it'll sound trite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think OP is upset because her AP/Honors kid got a B in the AP class and her kid's friend, in normal class, got an A and now she can't brag as much because it'll sound trite.

Yup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think OP is upset because her AP/Honors kid got a B in the AP class and her kid's friend, in normal class, got an A and now she can't brag as much because it'll sound trite.

You're probably right, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Almost all universities, even the most selective, give some sort of credit for AP exams. However, that's not the point. I can't speak for high schools in other areas of the country, but around here everyone is on the college track. The AP classes are teaching at the actual college level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:



OP, you need to relax. You seem wound extremely tight. Why do you care? I grew up in a crappy school system where we barely had honors/AP, was a terrible high school student but excellent writer and test-taker, made it in to Big State U (miraculously, if you ask my parents) and graduated magna cum laude. I didn't feel unprepared. Maybe because I was "only" at Big State U and not an Ivy. But seriously. Your snowflake will be OK, honors/AP or the horror of "regular" curriculum. And if you live anywhere in MoCo or Northern VA, your regular kid already has a leg up on kids from where I come from. Funny, all the Ffx Co kids at my college were cheating off me in class.

1. You grew up in a different generation. It is so much more stratified these days. Normal courses used to be challenging — they're all a joke now.

2. Because over 40% of kids are failing out of university and I guarantee if you isolated kids who didn't take Honors-Advanced-AP courses it's more like 80%. That's a hell of a lot of money blown because gullible parents assumed their A-B-C idiot was ready for college. And obviously exploitative colleges admit everyone with a pulse who has access to grants and loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think OP is upset because her AP/Honors kid got a B in the AP class and her kid's friend, in normal class, got an A and now she can't brag as much because it'll sound trite.

Yup.

Nope. More like the parents of complete idiot seniors are all talking about their Eddies and Suzies going away to college and I know they're all going to fail out. They're being conned by the high school and colleges are all too eager to take advantage of their naivety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



OP, you need to relax. You seem wound extremely tight. Why do you care? I grew up in a crappy school system where we barely had honors/AP, was a terrible high school student but excellent writer and test-taker, made it in to Big State U (miraculously, if you ask my parents) and graduated magna cum laude. I didn't feel unprepared. Maybe because I was "only" at Big State U and not an Ivy. But seriously. Your snowflake will be OK, honors/AP or the horror of "regular" curriculum. And if you live anywhere in MoCo or Northern VA, your regular kid already has a leg up on kids from where I come from. Funny, all the Ffx Co kids at my college were cheating off me in class.

1. You grew up in a different generation. It is so much more stratified these days. Normal courses used to be challenging — they're all a joke now.

2. Because over 40% of kids are failing out of university and I guarantee if you isolated kids who didn't take Honors-Advanced-AP courses it's more like 80%. That's a hell of a lot of money blown because gullible parents assumed their A-B-C idiot was ready for college. And obviously exploitative colleges admit everyone with a pulse who has access to grants and loans.

How about providing a source for your ridiculous statistics. Plenty of kids drop out for various reasons, but how many leave because they are failing their classes? Stop making things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



OP, you need to relax. You seem wound extremely tight. Why do you care? I grew up in a crappy school system where we barely had honors/AP, was a terrible high school student but excellent writer and test-taker, made it in to Big State U (miraculously, if you ask my parents) and graduated magna cum laude. I didn't feel unprepared. Maybe because I was "only" at Big State U and not an Ivy. But seriously. Your snowflake will be OK, honors/AP or the horror of "regular" curriculum. And if you live anywhere in MoCo or Northern VA, your regular kid already has a leg up on kids from where I come from. Funny, all the Ffx Co kids at my college were cheating off me in class.

1. You grew up in a different generation. It is so much more stratified these days. Normal courses used to be challenging — they're all a joke now.

2. Because over 40% of kids are failing out of university and I guarantee if you isolated kids who didn't take Honors-Advanced-AP courses it's more like 80%. That's a hell of a lot of money blown because gullible parents assumed their A-B-C idiot was ready for college. And obviously exploitative colleges admit everyone with a pulse who has access to grants and loans.

How about providing a source for your ridiculous statistics. Plenty of kids drop out for various reasons, but how many leave because they are failing their classes? Stop making things up.

Most students dropout for financial reasons, not because they are flunking out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Almost all universities, even the most selective, give some sort of credit for AP exams. However, that's not the point. I can't speak for high schools in other areas of the country, but around here everyone is on the college track. The AP classes are teaching at the actual college level.

That appears to be a matter of debate. To take Dartmouth as an example (which I do merely because it arose in the thread) they appear to recognize something of value in the AP course. That said, it saves you nothing in the $65,000+ per year. Nothing. Jay Matthews says this: "The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships produces rigorous accreditation standards boosting the chances that dual-enrollment students will get credit. Half of the states have agreements that require public colleges and universities to accept dual-enrollment credits, but Virginia, Maryland and the District are not part of that group." Of course, public universities can be strong-armed in by their state-legislatures, but privates cannot. This is a discussion about dual-enrollment, but it is highly relevant to the status of AP and IB candidates.

"It is important to point out, though, that many colleges, particularly the most-selective ones, do not always give college credit for good grades on AP and IB exams, either. I am convinced that their most beneficial effect is on the rigor and depth of high school learning. Eventually, colleges will be persuaded to give more credit for college-level courses in high school, but the students involved are at least more ready for the challenges of higher education."

Shorter Jay: IB/AP/Dual-enrollment - they're teaching at a level and with intensity that is most likely to make students prepared for college. This is a good thing for college prep. It doesn't mean there will be college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These days, all high school courses are on the college track. The AP courses are on the college level, which is why passing the AP test can earn college credits.

Except that selective universities (particularly the private ones) have little to no incentive to offer college credits for AP. The University of Nebraska may give you credit, but that doesn't mean Dartmouth will.

Almost all universities, even the most selective, give some sort of credit for AP exams. However, that's not the point. I can't speak for high schools in other areas of the country, but around here everyone is on the college track. The AP classes are teaching at the actual college level.

That appears to be a matter of debate. To take Dartmouth as an example (which I do merely because it arose in the thread) they appear to recognize something of value in the AP course. That said, it saves you nothing in the $65,000+ per year. Nothing. Jay Matthews says this: "The National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships produces rigorous accreditation standards boosting the chances that dual-enrollment students will get credit. Half of the states have agreements that require public colleges and universities to accept dual-enrollment credits, but Virginia, Maryland and the District are not part of that group." Of course, public universities can be strong-armed in by their state-legislatures, but privates cannot. This is a discussion about dual-enrollment, but it is highly relevant to the status of AP and IB candidates.

"It is important to point out, though, that many colleges, particularly the most-selective ones, do not always give college credit for good grades on AP and IB exams, either. I am convinced that their most beneficial effect is on the rigor and depth of high school learning. Eventually, colleges will be persuaded to give more credit for college-level courses in high school, but the students involved are at least more ready for the challenges of higher education."

Shorter Jay: IB/AP/Dual-enrollment - they're teaching at a level and with intensity that is most likely to make students prepared for college. This is a good thing for college prep. It doesn't mean there will be college credit.

You're both right and it varies a lot by teh university/college.

But even at a Dartmouth you might theoretically come out 'ahead' by being able to earn your degree by taking more meaty, upper level classes. But not fewer. At other schools that do give you actual credits, you may not save money but you could save time (carrying 3 classes for 1 or more terms instead of 4).

[Anonymous]

Once again, whether or not a college gives credit for AP exams is not the point. An AP class is taught at the college level so it's above and beyond the standard "college track" high school course.