GDS just dropped AP testing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD13 is starting 8th grade and we need to apply for high schools in January. She will go to university overseas as we cannot afford the US system. I knew GDS had stopped offering AP courses but didn’t know they were still doing AP testing. What difference does dropping the testing part make?

She can pay to take the test at a community College if she needs it for her application. It makes no difference where it's offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where to find an AP test center outside of your own high school? Thanks.

You’ve restarted a kind of contentious thread with a question only tangentially related that may get lost in the noise. I’d suggesting starting a new thread with your question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD13 is starting 8th grade and we need to apply for high schools in January. She will go to university overseas as we cannot afford the US system. I knew GDS had stopped offering AP courses but didn’t know they were still doing AP testing. What difference does dropping the testing part make?

She can pay to take the test at a community College if she needs it for her application. It makes no difference where it's offered.

Community colleges don't offer AP exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They had dropped the AP courses a few years ago (collusion case successfully brought by DOJ as a result of this as we all remember).

Now GDS just announced that they are dropping AP testing

"Over the last year, our team has been in conversation with dozens of college admissions offices from small liberal arts colleges to large flagship state institutions. In each of these conversations, we have confirmed what we shared with families when GDS moved away from AP courses: For college admissions, there is no advantage to taking AP tests if you attend a high school that does not offer that coursework."

Is this statement true? How about the increasing # of kids who have been applying and matriculating at UK/Ireland/Canadian schools? How about schools like NYU that actually take AP testing in lieu of SAT/ACT (optional of course).

Something about this decision sits wrong with me...they are making it even harder for the subset of students who dont want to go to SLACs.

Also what about the college credit that some schools - esp. state flagships still offer for AP tests 4+

How's that for GDS equity mission?

My kid is at a school that dropped APs years ago and she’s not taking any AP exams and I think it’s awesome. There are enough pointless boxes to check on the road to college. No need to add more.

Wait until she matriculated in a college and come back. Her classmates will have many AP credits and your daughter will not.

So what, though? I had AP credits when I went to college -- made zero difference.

[Anonymous]

Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

[Anonymous]

State schools accept APs—UC system, Michigan, UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State schools accept APs—UC system, Michigan, UVA

*Some* state schools do. I earned a 4 on my AP language exam back in the 90s and the public university I attended used my score as placement; I received no credit. I still had to satisfy the language requirement. Having said that, I did get to skip freshman writing because I earned a 5 on the AP. Though, in retrospect, I probably would have benefitted from taking that course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

+1. Even when I attend college in the late 90s, schools were pushing back. I attended a well-regarded state flagship and they only gave college credit for AP Calc and AP Physics, and even then only if you ALSO took a placement exam that tested you out of the entry level courses in those subjects. No credit for history, English, or foreign language. I don't regret taking those classes, they were the most advanced classes my high school offered and absolutely helped prepare me for college. But I would assume GDS's argument is that they already offer plenty of high level coursework that will prepare students for the next level. It's not like at a public school where often honors, AP, and IB are the only way for bright, motivated students to gain access to more advanced coursework and a cohort of more dedicated, focused students.

[Anonymous]

You guys are trying really hard to make APs seem meaningless. Just admit the school has a problem that can be easily fixed. YOU don't have to have your kid take them, but that doesn't mean no one should have this option.

[Anonymous]

You are talking about equity within an extremely expensive private high school that charges $45,000 or more per year.

A high school that expensive is basically an example of not being equitable.

Really, OP? You seem a bit tone deaf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

Does Princeton count? My kid received actual, bona fide college credit for AP Calc and Physics C.

Not like anyone is graduating early, and they don’t accept many…but yes these are credit courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are trying really hard to make APs seem meaningless. Just admit the school has a problem that can be easily fixed. YOU don't have to have your kid take them, but that doesn't mean no one should have this option.

It’s meaningful to a *few* students applying to St Andrews or MIT, international schools and major science/tech folks. That should not drive the whole school and thankfully it’s not. I am glad it’s gone. It’s a wasteful unnecessary other stress on my child who is a top student and won’t get squat at any university s/he is applying to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

+1. Even when I attend college in the late 90s, schools were pushing back. I attended a well-regarded state flagship and they only gave college credit for AP Calc and AP Physics, and even then only if you ALSO took a placement exam that tested you out of the entry level courses in those subjects. No credit for history, English, or foreign language. I don't regret taking those classes, they were the most advanced classes my high school offered and absolutely helped prepare me for college. But I would assume GDS's argument is that they already offer plenty of high level coursework that will prepare students for the next level. It's not like at a public school where often honors, AP, and IB are the only way for bright, motivated students to gain access to more advanced coursework and a cohort of more dedicated, focused students.

All, go do a search of just about any college and what AP courses they accept for placement and/or credit. Only 8 schools don’t accept at least some AP scores for credit.

Even MIT will accept an AP score for credit…yes credit…in some classes.

Also, UK and Canadian colleges care a lot about AP test scores for admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

Does Princeton count? My kid received actual, bona fide college credit for AP Calc and Physics C.

Not like anyone is graduating early, and they don’t accept many…but yes these are credit courses.

Helpful. Didn’t know Princeton was still doing this and surprised they are. Luckily, we are all going to Princeton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Name the school where your kids from the Big 5 or wherever are actually attending that gives college credit for AP exams. Like real deal credit. Back in the day you could use it graduate early etc which I did. Then colleges caught on and are not interested in losing tuition. I understand you can use AP exams to demonstrate how smart your are in math or a language to get you into a higher level class but that is not the same thing as an actual “college credit.”

Does Princeton count? My kid received actual, bona fide college credit for AP Calc and Physics C.

Not like anyone is graduating early, and they don’t accept many…but yes these are credit courses.

Helpful. Didn’t know Princeton was still doing this and surprised they are. Luckily, we are all going to Princeton.

For the Ivy schools, only Harvard and Dartmouth award no credit. For the rest, it is a very limited number of APs, but tend to be clustered in the Math/Stem and languages.