HB Woodlawn HS questions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you combine an AP class and a non-AP class. Can someone explain how that works.

For one of the AP/regular English classes... You teach towards the bottom. Then, for example, you give an assignment, for which you can read literally a choice of comic book, a 2nd grade reading level book, a middle grade book, or one or two actual books. I'm not sure of the exact number for each assignment but I know for sure there were at least the comic book, 2nd grade, middle grade, and one famous regular book. It's sad. And the fact that everyone probably gets graded the exact same is unfair and embarrassing. Oh yeah, there was also a choice to watch a movie instead.

Not an exaggeration. And don't complain if your kid does poorly on the AP test because I don't think anyone (parent or kid) officially complains at the beginning of school or during the year, according to our kids. (They could be doing the "privacy" nonsense and trying to pretend that your kid is the only one complaining, where parents clam up because of shame. This happened pre-Covid at an APS elementary school and they got away with it for several years before more than a few parents started meeting at school events and comparing notes. Its harder for them to get away with it now.)

I think I know which class you’re talking about. It was very disappointing. They mostly watched films instead of reading. I chalked it up to a bad teacher— which we’ve had from time to time over the years in public schools. HB isn’t immune to the usual public school problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I am incredibly lucky - my kid got into HB for 9th. Anyone able to answer a few qs?

He wants to do a fall sport at the neighborhood high school. How does that work? I read there are sports buses that leave early but do they go to each school? Do the kids just miss that class every day?

Is there still a shadow day- and is it in the next week or so since we only have 14 days to decide?

Is it still true that there are no intensified classes- and AP classes are co-taught with non-AP?

Kid isn’t sold on the school despite being excited about it before - we’d be crazy not to try it right?

Yes some AP classes are taught with the general class.

The HB AP classes in general are not taught at a difficult level. Our kids have or will have taken all the "hard" ones (APUSH, AP Lit, Calc, Chem, Phys, etc.) and they were taught easier than the same classes at other schools in FFX and MoCo, when compared with their friends on their sports or "academic" teams. Average AP scores for the classes have generally been on the lower end. If a kid at HB is struggling with most of these classes, they would have had a much harder time at a neighboring school, and it doesn't prepare well for a future stem major at a good college.

That’s interesting. My HB kid had less homework and tests as compared to her friends at her home school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I am incredibly lucky - my kid got into HB for 9th. Anyone able to answer a few qs?

He wants to do a fall sport at the neighborhood high school. How does that work? I read there are sports buses that leave early but do they go to each school? Do the kids just miss that class every day?

Is there still a shadow day- and is it in the next week or so since we only have 14 days to decide?

Is it still true that there are no intensified classes- and AP classes are co-taught with non-AP?

Kid isn’t sold on the school despite being excited about it before - we’d be crazy not to try it right?

Yes some AP classes are taught with the general class.

The HB AP classes in general are not taught at a difficult level. Our kids have or will have taken all the "hard" ones (APUSH, AP Lit, Calc, Chem, Phys, etc.) and they were taught easier than the same classes at other schools in FFX and MoCo, when compared with their friends on their sports or "academic" teams. Average AP scores for the classes have generally been on the lower end. If a kid at HB is struggling with most of these classes, they would have had a much harder time at a neighboring school, and it doesn't prepare well for a future stem major at a good college.

That’s interesting. My HB kid had less homework and tests as compared to her friends at her home school.

So you are agreeing with what this person is saying. Yes? The AP classes at HB are not at the same level of rigor as home high schools.

[Anonymous]

So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Yep. The admissions game is to take most rigorous offered, not some absolute standard. This has been discussed as the ultimate HBW hack on other threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you combine an AP class and a non-AP class. Can someone explain how that works.

For one of the AP/regular English classes... You teach towards the bottom. Then, for example, you give an assignment, for which you can read literally a choice of comic book, a 2nd grade reading level book, a middle grade book, or one or two actual books. I'm not sure of the exact number for each assignment but I know for sure there were at least the comic book, 2nd grade, middle grade, and one famous regular book. It's sad. And the fact that everyone probably gets graded the exact same is unfair and embarrassing. Oh yeah, there was also a choice to watch a movie instead.

Not an exaggeration. And don't complain if your kid does poorly on the AP test because I don't think anyone (parent or kid) officially complains at the beginning of school or during the year, according to our kids. (They could be doing the "privacy" nonsense and trying to pretend that your kid is the only one complaining, where parents clam up because of shame. This happened pre-Covid at an APS elementary school and they got away with it for several years before more than a few parents started meeting at school events and comparing notes. Its harder for them to get away with it now.)

I think I know which class you’re talking about. It was very disappointing. They mostly watched films instead of reading. I chalked it up to a bad teacher— which we’ve had from time to time over the years in public schools. HB isn’t immune to the usual public school problems.

Which grade was this? Offering a 2nd grade book vs. a regular book for that level is horrifying, and then everyone gets graded the same, as if it was the same difficulty? Is this how they “hide” the non-achievements of kids who have certain reasons (like medical) or is this done to hide language inadequacies? Or WHY?! Why would a school do this in English AP in HS? Or did I misunderstand the PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know I am incredibly lucky - my kid got into HB for 9th. Anyone able to answer a few qs?

He wants to do a fall sport at the neighborhood high school. How does that work? I read there are sports buses that leave early but do they go to each school? Do the kids just miss that class every day?

Is there still a shadow day- and is it in the next week or so since we only have 14 days to decide?

Is it still true that there are no intensified classes- and AP classes are co-taught with non-AP?

Kid isn’t sold on the school despite being excited about it before - we’d be crazy not to try it right?

Yes some AP classes are taught with the general class.

The HB AP classes in general are not taught at a difficult level. Our kids have or will have taken all the "hard" ones (APUSH, AP Lit, Calc, Chem, Phys, etc.) and they were taught easier than the same classes at other schools in FFX and MoCo, when compared with their friends on their sports or "academic" teams. Average AP scores for the classes have generally been on the lower end. If a kid at HB is struggling with most of these classes, they would have had a much harder time at a neighboring school, and it doesn't prepare well for a future stem major at a good college.

That’s interesting. My HB kid had less homework and tests as compared to her friends at her home school.

So you are agreeing with what this person is saying. Yes? The AP classes at HB are not at the same level of rigor as home high schools.

I don't have enough information to say. I only know what my kid told me after comparing notes with friends at the home schools. Kid said their friends had more tests and more work in general. HB teachers tend to assign more projects. Does that mean the home schools are more rigorous? I don't know. Also, this was across the board, not just for AP classes. And HB doesn't have intensified classes, except for math.

My kid also said that AP scores at HB were on the lower side. IDK how that compares to home schools though. Is there a way to compare those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you combine an AP class and a non-AP class. Can someone explain how that works.

For one of the AP/regular English classes... You teach towards the bottom. Then, for example, you give an assignment, for which you can read literally a choice of comic book, a 2nd grade reading level book, a middle grade book, or one or two actual books. I'm not sure of the exact number for each assignment but I know for sure there were at least the comic book, 2nd grade, middle grade, and one famous regular book. It's sad. And the fact that everyone probably gets graded the exact same is unfair and embarrassing. Oh yeah, there was also a choice to watch a movie instead.

Not an exaggeration. And don't complain if your kid does poorly on the AP test because I don't think anyone (parent or kid) officially complains at the beginning of school or during the year, according to our kids. (They could be doing the "privacy" nonsense and trying to pretend that your kid is the only one complaining, where parents clam up because of shame. This happened pre-Covid at an APS elementary school and they got away with it for several years before more than a few parents started meeting at school events and comparing notes. Its harder for them to get away with it now.)

I think I know which class you’re talking about. It was very disappointing. They mostly watched films instead of reading. I chalked it up to a bad teacher— which we’ve had from time to time over the years in public schools. HB isn’t immune to the usual public school problems.

Which grade was this? Offering a 2nd grade book vs. a regular book for that level is horrifying, and then everyone gets graded the same, as if it was the same difficulty? Is this how they “hide” the non-achievements of kids who have certain reasons (like medical) or is this done to hide language inadequacies? Or WHY?! Why would a school do this in English AP in HS? Or did I misunderstand the PP?

there was a reason for it, the project intentionally chose children's literature

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

It sounds like they are not doing nearly as much as kids at the other schools in AP classes.

It 100 percent makes college admissions easier. Kids are compared against their peers at their same school. HB kids are taking easier classes that are labeled "most rigorous" for their school. To recap, they are not working as hard and taking fewer challenging classes (since so many fewer are offered at HB to begin with) and then getting into the same schools as kids from the larger high schools. Compare a UVA admit from HB to a UVA admit from W-L IB and the W-L IB kid is a far more impressive and higher achieving student. You clearly don't know anything about the college admissions process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

'

AP exam scores are not a huge factor for college admissions beyond at highly selective schools. It would be great if they were though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

It sounds like they are not doing nearly as much as kids at the other schools in AP classes.

It 100 percent makes college admissions easier. Kids are compared against their peers at their same school. HB kids are taking easier classes that are labeled "most rigorous" for their school. To recap, they are not working as hard and taking fewer challenging classes (since so many fewer are offered at HB to begin with) and then getting into the same schools as kids from the larger high schools. Compare a UVA admit from HB to a UVA admit from W-L IB and the W-L IB kid is a far more impressive and higher achieving student. You clearly don't know anything about the college admissions process.

Right but AP scores are AP scores and these would be compared against the applicant pool more globally. It does not seem like a strong point that AP classes are not taught as well resulting in kids getting lower schools. But you seem to disagree and this that it is, so I probably won't be able to convince you otherwise.

[Anonymous]

sorry lower scores, not schools. dang auto correct

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

'

AP exam scores are not a huge factor for college admissions beyond at highly selective schools. It would be great if they were though.

okaaaay, are you a college admissions expert now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So yet another nugget about HB is these kids are not even operating at the level of kids at the home high schools and college admission is probably easier for them as a result.

In the end, in theory people should want their kids well prepared for college but I'm sure plenty of people love that they're getting AP lang and lit on their transcript with an A and meanwhile doing nothing in class.

Hold on tiger. who said they are doing nothing in class? and who said college admissions are easier? the kids at HB are less prepared for the AP exams and get lower scores. That hurts them with college admissions, not helps them

'

AP exam scores are not a huge factor for college admissions beyond at highly selective schools. It would be great if they were though.

Can't you take the AP class and not the AP test? That's how it was in my day. Basically the teacher would tell you if she thought you'd pass so I took most of them but not the one where my teacher said I probably woulnd' t do well.