AP Classes to be Eliminated by 2022

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The seven top private schools in the area issued a joint statement that they’re all eliminating AP. According to the Post, before “dropping AP, the schools surveyed nearly 150 colleges and universities about the potential impact. They said admission officers assured them the change would not hurt the chances of their students.”

Of course it won’t. Privilege begets privilege.

As a public school parent, this strikes me as privileged parents gaming the system so their children can never be compared directly to public school children. Colleges will just be told to trust them that their classes — and their children — are superior.

Well since all of these schools can boast 100% matriculation into a 4yr college, even with 25-30% being on financial aid....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i have to admit i do not get the backlash against AP classes. If I was in charge of college admissions and I had two kids, one of whom went to Sidwell Friends and took no APs, and one who went to a public high school and took a slew of AP classes (and did well on the AP tests), I'd be inclined to take the public-school kid.

Clueless

Did you also know that MCPS gives an entire 1.0 higher for both honors and AP courses. And MCPS "honors" courses are basically "not remedial" courses.
Did you know that a 79.5 and a 89.5 equal an A for a semester every time at MCPS
So a kid taking honors English will get a 5.0 for those two grades above?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It is not a "reality check" - it is an arbitrary exam that is easily gamed. And a waste of time. Good riddance.

So AP Calculus, for example, is "arbitrary" and "easily gamed"? What does that even mean? Cliches about "rote memorization" (How does one "memorize" math? Or English literature?) and "teaching to the test" (It is much easier for a teacher to "teach to" a test he or she will write him or herself than to "teach to" an AP he or she will never see) are silly enough, but these claims are utterly incomprehensible.

As I guess others have already noted, the key benefit of AP exams for students from Sidwell, St. Albans, etc., is not the possibility of saving money but rather the possibility of skipping introductory courses once at college. If you plan on majoring in history and have already taken U.S. history at Sidwell, why get stuck retaking "Intro to U.S. History" your first year of college if you can skip to higher level courses simply by showing a 4 or 5 on the AP? I would have thought retaking was the "waste of time."

(And no, you can't skip intro level college courses just because you were privileged enough to go to Sidwell or St. Albans. You actually have to prove you have mastered the material. Yup, just like a middle-class public school student.)

To be sure, the AP shortcomings are most clear in the humanities but yes, an extra hoop to jump through for calculus doesn't really do anything for the student, particularly if they are taking a math subject test. And you likely are not "retaking" anything because, as other have noted, the AP test have a narrow focus and there is much more that can be examined. Most of the college the private school kids are taking don't give credit but do allow placement, but that is even more arbitrary. For example, a 4 on US history often translates inot credit just for pre-1865 US history, irrespective of what the student actually knows. Even on your terms, some kids may get a 5 in a subject like Micro and still want to take class again, and AP's actually prevent that at some schools.

And yes, in fact, you can skip introductory classes without having taking an AP, particularly in language.

So, waste of time, good riddance.

[Anonymous]

One thing I was curious about is whether the private schools that are eliminating AP classes surveyed any of the parents to ask their opinions.

My DC attends one of the schools that is eliminating AP classes. When I have seen a group of the parents, they all seem annoyed by this new development because the school seemed to do what it wanted, without asking the parents what they wanted (or perhaps the kids what they wanted). The parents seemed to be genuinely caught off guard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I was curious about is whether the private schools that are eliminating AP classes surveyed any of the parents to ask their opinions.

My DC attends one of the schools that is eliminating AP classes. When I have seen a group of the parents, they all seem annoyed by this new development because the school seemed to do what it wanted, without asking the parents what they wanted (or perhaps the kids what they wanted). The parents seemed to be genuinely caught off guard.

Eh, a lot of top private schools have been rejecting the AP curriculum for years. Parents really shouldn’t be concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

I'd take the public school kid because an application from Sidwell Friends screams entitlement, and we all know that entitled kids with more money than brains are already over-represented in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

I'd take the public school kid because an application from Sidwell Friends screams entitlement, and we all know that entitled kids with more money than brains are already over-represented in college.

Generalize much? You clearly don't know a lot of the hardworking, thoughtful and grounded students that I do who attend these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

You are an idiot with a huge chip on your shoulder and everyone can see it from a mile away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

I'd take the public school kid because an application from Sidwell Friends screams entitlement, and we all know that entitled kids with more money than brains are already over-represented in college.

Generalize much? You clearly don't know a lot of the hardworking, thoughtful and grounded students that I do who attend these schools.

Seriously. PP is also seriously underestimating the entitlement among public school kids in affluent areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

You are an idiot with a huge chip on your shoulder and everyone can see it from a mile away.

I know this section of DCUM is basically the cheering section for DC privates, but ya'll sound like Redskins homers who think the team is surely going to win the Super Bowl this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

You are an idiot with a huge chip on your shoulder and everyone can see it from a mile away.

I know this section of DCUM is basically the cheering section for DC privates, but ya'll sound like Redskins homers who think the team is surely going to win the Super Bowl this year.

And you sound like someone who went to public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why you are not in admissions. Sidwell classes are beyond rigor and not even close to an AP public school. Signed not a Sidwell parent because the school is too much work and stress

You know there are public schools in this country that are waaaaaay better than any of the private schools in DC, right?

Please list the non-specialized public schools that are better. I am very curious.

And don't say Thomas Jefferson because that is a cherry-picked high school based out of 55,000 potential kids. Many families whom move to the area to apply to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing I was curious about is whether the private schools that are eliminating AP classes surveyed any of the parents to ask their opinions.

My DC attends one of the schools that is eliminating AP classes. When I have seen a group of the parents, they all seem annoyed by this new development because the school seemed to do what it wanted, without asking the parents what they wanted (or perhaps the kids what they wanted). The parents seemed to be genuinely caught off guard.

Eh, a lot of top private schools have been rejecting the AP curriculum for years. Parents really shouldn’t be concerned.

My nephew goes to a private in NJ and they have never offered AP's. We have friends in boarding school and it is the same. Most schools with rigorous kids and academics do not need to play the AP game. And let's be real. Do you think any public or private school teacher can teach a college course correctly to 30 kids after what? A week of "training." The college board is and will always be a complete money making scam. There is no doubt some kids can game the system and bypass some college courses. No denying that. But the amount that do not are above 85% and that is where the money is. The board alone makes more than half their net profit on testing fees. That is insane. More and more colleges are not accepting them anyway. As soon as Harvard decided a few months ago, so will others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I was curious about is whether the private schools that are eliminating AP classes surveyed any of the parents to ask their opinions.

My DC attends one of the schools that is eliminating AP classes. When I have seen a group of the parents, they all seem annoyed by this new development because the school seemed to do what it wanted, without asking the parents what they wanted (or perhaps the kids what they wanted). The parents seemed to be genuinely caught off guard.

I hope not. The parents already think they are qualified to pick apart every aspect of curriculum and teaching, even though they have no expertise aside from attending school once upon a time. These schools are immersed in college admissions, best teaching practices, and curriculum design. They didn't make this decision on a whim.