My senior is taking 7 AP classes and will graduate with 17 total
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Anonymous
And some kids are fine. I didn't find AP coursework to be particularly challenging. You figure out what works best for your child and let others live the way they want to. |
Anonymous
| Okay that's ridiculous. And I have a kid at TJ, so I have an incredibly high threshold for iridiculous. |
Anonymous
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There is no way that works without a bunch of BS APs, like AP Psych, AP Geography, and whatever the new AP CS class is that is really pre-AP CS, and you take AP physics 1 and AP physics C, instead of going straight to AP physics C, and take all three of Calc AB, Calc BC and AP Stats, instead of a harder Calc BC/ Multivariable and linear path, environmental science instead of Bio plus AP or chem plus AP. Etc. Even then it doesn't work unless you choose a class path solely to maximize APs in every academic area. Why would you do this?
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Anonymous
| Is she getting 4 & 5s on all of the tests, or just taking classes to pump up the weighted GPA? |
Anonymous
Well clearly, the kid discussed in the OP is NOT fine. |
Anonymous
This is a madness only if it is forced on the kid. No one is forcing this and each student should choose what is appropriate for him or her in consultation with a counselor. There may be some indirect pressure from other kids but there are also pressures to wear the latest clothing, drive nice cars, regarding alcohol or drugs etc. Wanting to take 7 APs/year is better than taking alcohol. drug, partying excessively, bullying etc. What about obsession with sports? Academics or wanting to study seem to be the one that is usually singled out for mockery which is weird when discussing students. |
Anonymous
My kid graduated from TJ recently and there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs. |
Anonymous
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X-APs has become such a shorthand and it's really more nuanced.
My DC has struggled more his non-AP math classes, because he dislikes/isn't good at math, than with the APs science and history classes he's taken. It just depends on the school, the teacher and the kid. Clearly the OP's kid has too heavy a workload. Doesn't matter whether the classes are labelled AP or IB or Honors or general ed. They should get to the counselor's office now and drop something. Or assume it will just be one big life-lesson for the student. |
Anonymous
LOL. probably because you are not the one who is doing it. "you may die but it's a scarifie I am willing to make." lord farquaad |
Anonymous
90% of kids skip or bomb the exams. It's become such pointless d*ck measuring contest. If your kid doesn't have a 95-percentile SAT/ACT score you are wasting their time with all these APs. |
Anonymous
You are talking about your kid. Don't project on to other smarter kids. |
Anonymous
This. |
Anonymous
I've never heard of post AP or plus AP classes. What schools offer those in the area? Is there a link you can provide to learn more about them? Is there a separate test for them? |
Anonymous
That's BS, and there is no way your kid graduated from TJ recently, or you would understand that that is not how the curriculum works. TJ teaches a lot of classes at the AP level, but does not offer the class as an AP (Foundations of CS, 10th grade world history, Geosystems, Physics 1, Research Stats), And it adds in a lot of extra requirements to graduate that are not offered as APs-- research stats, CS, design tech, senior lab and pre-recs, Geosystems. TJ kids average 7 APs/post APs. Some do more. Some do fewer. But, assuming you truly max out what is possible given the graduation requirements (start in Calc freshman year, and place out of Foundations CS, and place into language 3, and take 3 years of summer school and take EPF as an 8th class) you can theoretically hit 16: Summer before 9th: Research Stats Freshman: 2 APs (Calc and AP CS because you placed out of Foundations). Plus IBET, PE, and Language 3. AND EPF as an 8th class Summer: Chemistry Sophomore: 4 (post Calc math, Chem or Bio, AP foreign Language, and one more), plus Humanities (2), and PE Summer: 4th history (cannot be AP) Junior: 5 (Post Calc math, AP Physics, APUSH and 2 more). Plus English and one Lab Pre-Rec Senior: 4 (English, Government, post-Calc Math, and two more). Plus Geosystems and Senior Lab. But, less than 10% of the freshman class goes into Calculus, FCPS kids only comes in with one year of MS language and start over or take Language II, and this only works on some tracks, because any of the engineering or tech tracks do not have APs or post AP (unlike CS, which does). It would shock me if more than a handful of kids a year hit 15. And those would be some miserable kids. I don't care how much you love to learn. The day only has so many hours, and everyone needs to sleep. In real life, most kids take no APs in 9th, 1-2 APs in 10th (most kids I know have 1, unless they are in Calc. The kids in band and orchestra have none), 3-4 in 11th and 3ish in 12th. Again, the school says the average is 7. |
Anonymous
Post APs are classes (usually math and science) that have an AP class as a pre-requisite. TJ is the easy place to see this in action. If you take AP Calculus, AP CS, AP Bio, AP Chemistry or AP Physics before your senior year, TJ offers the next class or classes in the sequence (Multivariable/Linear, Organic Chemistry, Neurobiology, AI, Parallel Computing, etc). I think the only post AP offered in "normal" FCPS HSs (not TJ) is multivariable/ linear. Besides that, you do online or joint degree with GMU or NOVA. No standardized test given. Most kids work with their specific college to end up in the right class. But, it is very unusual to need Post-APs, except maybe Math. Although in today's world, I do think we will see schools start to offer post AP CS. They Or make AP CS harder, so that you need a better foundation to take the class. https://fcps.tjhsst.edu/coursemgmt/media/300/resource/TJ%20Profile%202016-17%20online.pdf |