St Anselm’s Abbey School — an AP mill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I am not saying that SAAS is not an excellent school nor that it’s students can’t handle the AP load. Yet their average AP coarse load seems to be incredibly high, thus why I am asking this question. Especially in light of the fact that many of the most selective private high schools and universities seem to be moving away from so putting much emphasis on AP courses and credits.

Personally, I want to head that my worries are unfounded, but I also want honest dialog on the topic, regardless of whether you’re a SAAS parent or not. It’s a valid issue that has nothing to do with whether the school itself is great in every other way or not.

Do colleges provide credit for APs still? If so, one theory may be kids trying to save money in college. My son toured the Abbey and we were told that many of the boys were admitted into more highly ranked schools than they were able to attend because money was often an issue so they went where the scholarships were. Maybe boys want to finish college early by taking AP classes, thereby saving money?Just speculation though.

I have to admit, I thought the idea that the boys went to schools with scholarships, rather than amassing debt, was impressive. Also I would be shocked if any kid got less than a stellar education at St. Anselm’s, AP or otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I think I was the one to blame for the snarky "AP mill" comment on the other thread. Honestly, SAAS is a great school that costs more than $10,000 less than the independent schools in upper NW. However, it has chosen to make AP classes the centerpiece of its curriculum like many public schools while the upper NW schools have been moving away from College Board's AP designation. But, there are many good reasons for the difference. As a Catholic school, SAAS students come from more diverse backgrounds. And for students likely to go to Catholic colleges, AP credits are worth a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SAAS is known for giving kids some grades that will be an awaking for them - IMO there is no grade inflation there.

What do you mean that they will be an awakening?

because unlike other privates, teachers at SAAS give C's and D's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured SAAS last year and I had the complete opposite impression - that they were more concerned about offering a rigorous education than in setting kids up for easy admissions to the most selective school.

Regardless, did you feel like the AP emphasis was too much?

The emphasis on AP classes is way too much there even though the boys are able to handle them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We toured SAAS last year and I had the complete opposite impression - that they were more concerned about offering a rigorous education than in setting kids up for easy admissions to the most selective school.

Regardless, did you feel like the AP emphasis was too much?

The emphasis on AP classes is way too much there even though the boys are able to handle them

Meaning what though? They should take fewer classes? Part of the appeal of the school is that you can take more classes than other schools allow, including two languages.

[Anonymous]

Different question: is there something similar to st anselm’s for girls? I think it would be a good fit for my son but I don’t like the idea of sending my boy to a private and sending the girls public.

[Anonymous]

St. Anselm's is a very challenging school.

The schools moving away from AP seem to be saying "trust me" as to rigor. Willing to be convinced otherwise, but AP seems to be an objective, across the board standard.

Would be very surprised to learn that anyone at the school is "teaching to the test," rather than going beyond it.

The usefulness of AP college credit in terms of reducing time/cost for college depends on where the student goes to college. Not all colleges give AP credit. Even when they do, it is sometimes better to take the class in college anyway, particularly if it is a prerequisite course.

[Anonymous]

I'm really confused about what would be bad about taking a lot of AP classes if you can handle it.

[Anonymous]

IE, you could say a gymnastics gym was a 'tumbling mill' but isn't that what they're supposed to be doing there?

[Anonymous]

To what extent is the move away from AP driven by a desire to be "different " in an educational environment where AP courses have penetrated deeply into public schools, albeit in some cases with very poor results in terms of ultimate SP test scores and/or a desire to move course content into a more "progressive " direction than AP guidelines would allow?

[Anonymous]

I'm not PP, but a curriculum where the content is at least as rigorous/demanding as AP-type classes but not taught around a standardized test (i.e., more freedom to explore fewer topics in-depth than a shallow breadth) is preferable for my kids.

[Anonymous]

"AP," not "SP."

[Anonymous]

Having seen the difference between AP vs. an upper level honors course at DC's school that is moving away from APs, I feel that AP classes sacrifice depth over breadth of material. (Depending on the subject, but in history, for example, for sure.)

St. Anselms is a different beast and I agree with a PP that I doubt this is an issue there as they are known for depth of material.

IMO, the College Board holds entirely too much sway over the whole high school and college admissions procedure and I'm happy not to give them more of my money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different question: is there something similar to st anselm’s for girls? I think it would be a good fit for my son but I don’t like the idea of sending my boy to a private and sending the girls public.

This questions is asked every few months. The answer is no if you are talking about Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many area private schools are actually known for grade deflation and have moved away from AP exams because they test the superficial in any given subject.

And the higher Ivies are well aware of this fact and thus are only too happy to accept area private school graduates into their Freshman class in droves. Our students are having hard time deciding which of the higher Ivies to go to. But I would say it is a dilemma worth having.