How is the elimination of APs going for your DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just avoid any school that both has no AP AND doesn't offer the tests.

I think only GDS around here falls into that category.

That way you always have the option to take the test if you want.

You can sign up to take tests at Whitman, Churchill and Basis so it's not a big deal.

For anyone who cares, you can ask the teachers what is different about their class vs the AP and most can specifically explain what is different about their class. APs are required to follow a certain order and use AP tests/quizzes. For some private school advanced/upper level classes that replaced APs, the course will cover the AP information, but not on the schedule or using the quizzes/test the AP prescribes. Or they may omit a section in favor of another or add in something extra (ie labs, different novels, extra text books/primary sources, etc).

All of the standardized tests have tricks and hacks to get the best score. Dedicated AP classes will focus on those throughout the year. It is 99% teaching to the test if they want students to get a 5. Many will take practice tests or do many practice questions so that test day is totally familiar.

A good instructor will hammer those tricks in. But that's the debate here - is it more important for your DC to learn the test or more about that field of study?

It's close to impossible to do both well, not in the limited time.

Our school does not teach to the test and leaves it to the ambitious kids to self teach 'tricks and hacks' if there really are such things.

Our school teaches them but does it after school or during Saturday sessions in April so that the class time is spent productively. It’s possible to do both.

You sound naive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just avoid any school that both has no AP AND doesn't offer the tests.

I think only GDS around here falls into that category.

That way you always have the option to take the test if you want.

You can sign up to take tests at Whitman, Churchill and Basis so it's not a big deal.

For anyone who cares, you can ask the teachers what is different about their class vs the AP and most can specifically explain what is different about their class. APs are required to follow a certain order and use AP tests/quizzes. For some private school advanced/upper level classes that replaced APs, the course will cover the AP information, but not on the schedule or using the quizzes/test the AP prescribes. Or they may omit a section in favor of another or add in something extra (ie labs, different novels, extra text books/primary sources, etc).

All of the standardized tests have tricks and hacks to get the best score. Dedicated AP classes will focus on those throughout the year. It is 99% teaching to the test if they want students to get a 5. Many will take practice tests or do many practice questions so that test day is totally familiar.

A good instructor will hammer those tricks in. But that's the debate here - is it more important for your DC to learn the test or more about that field of study?

It's close to impossible to do both well, not in the limited time.

Our school does not teach to the test and leaves it to the ambitious kids to self teach 'tricks and hacks' if there really are such things.

Our school teaches them but does it after school or during Saturday sessions in April so that the class time is spent productively. It’s possible to do both.

Same. Many of our cover them either throughout the year as part of exams or in fourth quarter right before the exam.

Also, teachers determine the syllabus for an AP class. Sure there is a framework of topics/materials that need to be covered, but that is true for most standard courses in HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just avoid any school that both has no AP AND doesn't offer the tests.

I think only GDS around here falls into that category.

That way you always have the option to take the test if you want.

You can sign up to take tests at Whitman, Churchill and Basis so it's not a big deal.

For anyone who cares, you can ask the teachers what is different about their class vs the AP and most can specifically explain what is different about their class. APs are required to follow a certain order and use AP tests/quizzes. For some private school advanced/upper level classes that replaced APs, the course will cover the AP information, but not on the schedule or using the quizzes/test the AP prescribes. Or they may omit a section in favor of another or add in something extra (ie labs, different novels, extra text books/primary sources, etc).

All of the standardized tests have tricks and hacks to get the best score. Dedicated AP classes will focus on those throughout the year. It is 99% teaching to the test if they want students to get a 5. Many will take practice tests or do many practice questions so that test day is totally familiar.

A good instructor will hammer those tricks in. But that's the debate here - is it more important for your DC to learn the test or more about that field of study?

It's close to impossible to do both well, not in the limited time.

Our school does not teach to the test and leaves it to the ambitious kids to self teach 'tricks and hacks' if there really are such things.

Our school teaches them but does it after school or during Saturday sessions in April so that the class time is spent productively. It’s possible to do both.

You sound naive.

Lol such a weak response. Because you have nothing else, I guess.

You can teach the content well and teach test strategies. Yes, it may require time outside of the normal class. But it is done regularly. What’s naive is believing these things can’t both happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC will apply to colleges in Europe and needs APs. Otherwise quite high performing but only got 4s on the ones he self studied (no support or reviewing from school). Based on other performance I’d think he would have gotten 5s if he had been learning the AP curriculum all year similar to his friends that are at public schools. It’s hard fitting in learning all of the additional content on your own when there’s already other school work that’s more pressing.

Did he actually study AP rubrics and test strategies, or did he just try to learn content? DD is also looking at schools abroad (UK) and is at a private that offers APs and she sat for her first APs this spring. My impression is that the school did a good job preparing the kids for the AP exam. They did more than just matching the syllabus to the exam. They went further by familiarizing the kids with the grading rubric for the essay and short answer portions of the exams. It's best to learn what the graders are looking for and what kind of answers fulfill certain requirements. All this information is in the test prep books like Barron's or Princeton Review, but I'll bet many kids probably don't bother with the exam strategy and are just trying to memorize the content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just avoid any school that both has no AP AND doesn't offer the tests.

I think only GDS around here falls into that category.

That way you always have the option to take the test if you want.

You can sign up to take tests at Whitman, Churchill and Basis so it's not a big deal.

For anyone who cares, you can ask the teachers what is different about their class vs the AP and most can specifically explain what is different about their class. APs are required to follow a certain order and use AP tests/quizzes. For some private school advanced/upper level classes that replaced APs, the course will cover the AP information, but not on the schedule or using the quizzes/test the AP prescribes. Or they may omit a section in favor of another or add in something extra (ie labs, different novels, extra text books/primary sources, etc).

All of the standardized tests have tricks and hacks to get the best score. Dedicated AP classes will focus on those throughout the year. It is 99% teaching to the test if they want students to get a 5. Many will take practice tests or do many practice questions so that test day is totally familiar.

A good instructor will hammer those tricks in. But that's the debate here - is it more important for your DC to learn the test or more about that field of study?

It's close to impossible to do both well, not in the limited time.

Then what is the value of these classes if they're all about learning tricks and hacks? This is a pretty cynical approach.

The principal value is the score the kid can get on the test. You can be sure that the teacher's success rate is tracked that way by management. Can't have someone teaching AP if the kids aren't acing the test at the end. It's a self-fulfilling cycle.

Anyone who wants to know the tricks can go to YouTube and search "How to get a 5 on AP test" then see the flood of results. Watch a few and ask yourself how they compare to really learning the subject like you would in college.

The tips and tricks are not the substance of the course, obviously. And You Tube may not be your best source. It really sounds like you haven't been in an AP classroom lately, so you may not be the best source either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC will apply to colleges in Europe and needs APs. Otherwise quite high performing but only got 4s on the ones he self studied (no support or reviewing from school). Based on other performance I’d think he would have gotten 5s if he had been learning the AP curriculum all year similar to his friends that are at public schools. It’s hard fitting in learning all of the additional content on your own when there’s already other school work that’s more pressing.

Did he actually study AP rubrics and test strategies, or did he just try to learn content? DD is also looking at schools abroad (UK) and is at a private that offers APs and she sat for her first APs this spring. My impression is that the school did a good job preparing the kids for the AP exam. They did more than just matching the syllabus to the exam. They went further by familiarizing the kids with the grading rubric for the essay and short answer portions of the exams. It's best to learn what the graders are looking for and what kind of answers fulfill certain requirements. All this information is in the test prep books like Barron's or Princeton Review, but I'll bet many kids probably don't bother with the exam strategy and are just trying to memorize the content.

Modern AP tests are not just content memorization tests. They are mostly analysis and application that requires a broad background in the material and themes of the subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just avoid any school that both has no AP AND doesn't offer the tests.

I think only GDS around here falls into that category.

That way you always have the option to take the test if you want.

You can sign up to take tests at Whitman, Churchill and Basis so it's not a big deal.

For anyone who cares, you can ask the teachers what is different about their class vs the AP and most can specifically explain what is different about their class. APs are required to follow a certain order and use AP tests/quizzes. For some private school advanced/upper level classes that replaced APs, the course will cover the AP information, but not on the schedule or using the quizzes/test the AP prescribes. Or they may omit a section in favor of another or add in something extra (ie labs, different novels, extra text books/primary sources, etc).

All of the standardized tests have tricks and hacks to get the best score. Dedicated AP classes will focus on those throughout the year. It is 99% teaching to the test if they want students to get a 5. Many will take practice tests or do many practice questions so that test day is totally familiar.

A good instructor will hammer those tricks in. But that's the debate here - is it more important for your DC to learn the test or more about that field of study?

It's close to impossible to do both well, not in the limited time.

Then what is the value of these classes if they're all about learning tricks and hacks? This is a pretty cynical approach.

PP is simply wrong.