AP Test Results

[Anonymous]

Would you suggest a student with 4 on AP Gov retake it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op my child got a 3 also. I had older children take the same class with the same teacher and all got 5s. We were a bit surprised too.

Test changed this year for many subjects, which means that the way teachers had been teaching would not have worked this year to get a 5. Most teachers did not change how they teach or what they teach. My DS is great in taking tests and usually does very well. So we are currently develving deep into why he got a 4 instead of a 5. Mainly because there are certain things he will need to change if he wants to get 5s on the APs in the coming year, and he cannot rely on the MCPS teachers.

Here are my observations -
1) Exams were in beginning of May. The teacher had not entirely finished the course and the textbook by the end of April. Lesson learned - student is on his own and should start from summer to prep for the exam and course so that they get at least 9 months of studying instead of 7 months of studying. He cannot have the expectation that the teacher will be able to finish everything and teach in a way that the student will be successful in the AP exam

2) The few exams that the teacher gave were all multiple-choice questions. These were easy to score 100% on. Lesson learned - focus more on the essay type questions where the board is looking for some "Key Terms" that fulfills the rubrics and get you full marks. Also, these kinds of questions are weighed more.

3) Student was told to buy Barrons AP book in March. Lesson learned - Buy the book now and start studying from tomorrow. Also, use Barrons every day through the school year to do assignments for the course.

4) Teacher did not teach for the AP test. He taught for the MCPS test. Lesson learned - AP course grade inflation is a reality. No wonder colleges are not happy about AP courses that MCPS students take and report their GPA on. Lesson learned - Find the right resource to teach for the test. What the MCPS teachers are teaching is not cutting it.

5) The textbook was dated. Barron's was also sort of dated. Lesson learned - Go to the source. Prepare from the college board website mainly.

I do not want to boast but I know the caliber of my kids. If my DS did not get 5, it was because he did what the teacher told him to do. Never again. If the AP exam is testing him on how well he takes the exam then he will do that next time.

MCPS fails yet again!

You are being a dramatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you suggest a student with 4 on AP Gov retake it?

No. According to the distribution info helpful PP posted up thread, only 13.% of the kids that take the test (which is already self-selecting) get a 5. A 4 is a perfectly respectable score. I did a little research yesterday, looking at some of the colleges my kid is interested in. Many colleges give credit even for a three. Many give even more credit for 4/5. These schools group the 4/5 score together.

Chill out, and stop making your kid's life so stressful. You need to be congratulating your child on a job well done, not freaking out about a 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you suggest a student with 4 on AP Gov retake it?

No. According to the distribution info helpful PP posted up thread, only 13.% of the kids that take the test (which is already self-selecting) get a 5. A 4 is a perfectly respectable score. I did a little research yesterday, looking at some of the colleges my kid is interested in. Many colleges give credit even for a three. Many give even more credit for 4/5. These schools group the 4/5 score together.

Chill out, and stop making your kid's life so stressful. You need to be congratulating your child on a job well done, not freaking out about a 4.

Congratulations kid. Your teacher sucks!

[Anonymous]

Harvard wants a 5 for non-legacy and non-athlete kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is kind of upset because she scored a 3 on the AP US Government Test. Is there anyway to find out her raw score to see if she missed the cutoff by 1 point (4) or conversely if she barely made a 3. It would be helpful for her to know for next year. She’s going to be a sophomore.

This number does not mean anything except that the teacher did not do a good job of guiding the students to take AP exams.

There is a new digital tool that will be available from August 1st from CollegeBoard, which will allow her to practice and understand how she is doing. If she wants she can certainly take the exam again. If she is doing AP US History this year, then the topics of AP Gov somewhat overlap. She will have to be diligent about studying early and study hard because her workload will increase with the retake. Go prepared this time.
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/ap-2019/support-students-new-online-tools

Thanks for this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harvard wants a 5 for non-legacy and non-athlete kid.

Okay. So you are interested in college, but only in Harvard, and you are telling your kid that the only acceptable outcome to the college application process is acceptance to Harvard? Congratulations. You are part of the problem and you are screwing up your kid.

[Anonymous]

AP scores do not even go in with applications. Not all AP credits are useful depending on your major and the schools requirements. I would recommend a retake of an AP exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op my child got a 3 also. I had older children take the same class with the same teacher and all got 5s. We were a bit surprised too.

Test changed this year for many subjects, which means that the way teachers had been teaching would not have worked this year to get a 5. Most teachers did not change how they teach or what they teach. My DS is great in taking tests and usually does very well. So we are currently develving deep into why he got a 4 instead of a 5. Mainly because there are certain things he will need to change if he wants to get 5s on the APs in the coming year, and he cannot rely on the MCPS teachers.

Here are my observations -
1) Exams were in beginning of May. The teacher had not entirely finished the course and the textbook by the end of April. Lesson learned - student is on his own and should start from summer to prep for the exam and course so that they get at least 9 months of studying instead of 7 months of studying. He cannot have the expectation that the teacher will be able to finish everything and teach in a way that the student will be successful in the AP exam

2) The few exams that the teacher gave were all multiple-choice questions. These were easy to score 100% on. Lesson learned - focus more on the essay type questions where the board is looking for some "Key Terms" that fulfills the rubrics and get you full marks. Also, these kinds of questions are weighed more.

3) Student was told to buy Barrons AP book in March. Lesson learned - Buy the book now and start studying from tomorrow. Also, use Barrons every day through the school year to do assignments for the course.

4) Teacher did not teach for the AP test. He taught for the MCPS test. Lesson learned - AP course grade inflation is a reality. No wonder colleges are not happy about AP courses that MCPS students take and report their GPA on. Lesson learned - Find the right resource to teach for the test. What the MCPS teachers are teaching is not cutting it.

5) The textbook was dated. Barron's was also sort of dated. Lesson learned - Go to the source. Prepare from the college board website mainly.

I do not want to boast but I know the caliber of my kids. If my DS did not get 5, it was because he did what the teacher told him to do. Never again. If the AP exam is testing him on how well he takes the exam then he will do that next time.

MCPS fails yet again!

Seems to me that you mostly know the caliber of your kids' parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op my child got a 3 also. I had older children take the same class with the same teacher and all got 5s. We were a bit surprised too.

Test changed this year for many subjects, which means that the way teachers had been teaching would not have worked this year to get a 5. Most teachers did not change how they teach or what they teach. My DS is great in taking tests and usually does very well. So we are currently develving deep into why he got a 4 instead of a 5. Mainly because there are certain things he will need to change if he wants to get 5s on the APs in the coming year, and he cannot rely on the MCPS teachers.

Here are my observations -
1) Exams were in beginning of May. The teacher had not entirely finished the course and the textbook by the end of April. Lesson learned - student is on his own and should start from summer to prep for the exam and course so that they get at least 9 months of studying instead of 7 months of studying. He cannot have the expectation that the teacher will be able to finish everything and teach in a way that the student will be successful in the AP exam

2) The few exams that the teacher gave were all multiple-choice questions. These were easy to score 100% on. Lesson learned - focus more on the essay type questions where the board is looking for some "Key Terms" that fulfills the rubrics and get you full marks. Also, these kinds of questions are weighed more.

3) Student was told to buy Barrons AP book in March. Lesson learned - Buy the book now and start studying from tomorrow. Also, use Barrons every day through the school year to do assignments for the course.

4) Teacher did not teach for the AP test. He taught for the MCPS test. Lesson learned - AP course grade inflation is a reality. No wonder colleges are not happy about AP courses that MCPS students take and report their GPA on. Lesson learned - Find the right resource to teach for the test. What the MCPS teachers are teaching is not cutting it.

5) The textbook was dated. Barron's was also sort of dated. Lesson learned - Go to the source. Prepare from the college board website mainly.

I do not want to boast but I know the caliber of my kids. If my DS did not get 5, it was because he did what the teacher told him to do. Never again. If the AP exam is testing him on how well he takes the exam then he will do that next time.

MCPS fails yet again!

Seems to me that you mostly know the caliber of your kids' parent.

Both. You I peg as someone who is always bitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP scores do not even go in with applications. Not all AP credits are useful depending on your major and the schools requirements. I would recommend a retake of an AP exam.

Why would you recommend a retake if it does not go in with applications?

Since many people use AP as a signalling device to colleges rather than for college credits, won't a 4 or 5 be better to combat the perception of MCPS grade inflation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harvard wants a 5 for non-legacy and non-athlete kid.

Okay. So you are interested in college, but only in Harvard, and you are telling your kid that the only acceptable outcome to the college application process is acceptance to Harvard? Congratulations. You are part of the problem and you are screwing up your kid.

Dude! Chill. That was a hilarious statement. I have added an emoticon and now you can see from the visual cue that is is freakin funny!
BTW - what problem are you alluding to? Is there a problem?

[Anonymous]

When posters start being snarky to each other it is a great hint that the most useful information has already been posted on the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP scores do not even go in with applications. Not all AP credits are useful depending on your major and the schools requirements. I would recommend a retake of an AP exam.

Why would you recommend a retake if it does not go in with applications?

Since many people use AP as a signalling device to colleges rather than for college credits, won't a 4 or 5 be better to combat the perception of MCPS grade inflation?

Oops should have said NOT recommend...

[Anonymous]

My son, a rising sophomore, also received a 3 on his AP US history exam and was very upset about it. I know that he worked so hard all year and did so much to prepare for the test and was very disappointed in the result. However, I emphasized to him that his score isn’t much more than a number and that he should be proud of himself for passing both his AP tests and getting a 5 on AP CSP.