St Anselm’s Abbey School — an AP mill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Different question: is there something similar to st anselm’s for girls? I think it would be a good fit for my son but I don’t like the idea of sending my boy to a private and sending the girls public.

This questions is asked every few months. The answer is no if you are talking about Catholic schools.

What about non-catholic schools? I’m catholic but don’t really care whether my kids go to a catholic school.

Rigorous Private (Non Catholic School) Options for Girls: Potomac, Holton, G-Town Day, Maret, NCS, and Sidwell

Some are Single Sex (Holton and NCS), the rest are not. All are phasing out APs. All are "selective" and more expensive than St Anselm's.

There is no true Girls equivalent to St Anselm's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question (perhaps for OP):

What is a AP mill?
What distinguishes it from a school that merely offers many AP courses?
What is wrong with a heavy AP courseload?

Haven't really heard about this issue before. Always thought AP standards provided some uniformity across schools, in addition to the opportunity for college credit.

There are a lot of issues regarding a heavy AP focus and regarding the College Board; that has been discussed on DCUM, in WaPo, and in dozens of publications and forums, plenty of times over the the last couple years. Many people love the AP model while many don’t. As mentioned earlier, some top area private’s are moving away from AP’s. I know they’re still big in the competitive public schools, yet this discussion is not about a public school nor is it an indictment against SAAS. It’s legitimate question that has no ill will behind it.

If you are worried that the classes are mind-numbingly dull, that the teachers feel they have no freedom to really take the time to go off topic and explore where the student's thoughts take them, that the teachers are always yelling at the students that they have to do more faster, then don't worry. SAAS is just the opposite of that. It is a quirky, intellectual place where these nerdy students love debating philosophy and ethics for hours on end. They also have a lot of fun.

This is a bit hyperbolic. Who mentioned teachers yelling at students and mind-numbing coursework even?

There can be legitimate issues with the AP model and focus that has nothing to do with a teachers temperament or ability. There are constraints placed on the teachers and the curriculum because of AP. Why is that so hard to acknowledge?

[Anonymous]

If you are twisting your internals out of shape, then I guess your kids aren't cut out for high stress, highly competitive colleges and universities. Your kids and you will be better off sending them to cuddly, caring, no stress, LACs and humanities majors. There will be lot of time to be well-rounded in all the non-academic areas. Have fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are twisting your internals out of shape, then I guess your kids aren't cut out for high stress, highly competitive colleges and universities. Your kids and you will be better off sending them to cuddly, caring, no stress, LACs and humanities majors. There will be lot of time to be well-rounded in all the non-academic areas. Have fun.

This answer shows that you obviously never learned how to discuss and debate a topic on its merits. Rather you attack those that raise questions and concerns about the status quo.

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question (perhaps for OP):

What is a AP mill?
What distinguishes it from a school that merely offers many AP courses?
What is wrong with a heavy AP courseload?

Haven't really heard about this issue before. Always thought AP standards provided some uniformity across schools, in addition to the opportunity for college credit.

There are a lot of issues regarding a heavy AP focus and regarding the College Board; that has been discussed on DCUM, in WaPo, and in dozens of publications and forums, plenty of times over the the last couple years. Many people love the AP model while many don’t. As mentioned earlier, some top area private’s are moving away from AP’s. I know they’re still big in the competitive public schools, yet this discussion is not about a public school nor is it an indictment against SAAS. It’s legitimate question that has no ill will behind it.

If you are worried that the classes are mind-numbingly dull, that the teachers feel they have no freedom to really take the time to go off topic and explore where the student's thoughts take them, that the teachers are always yelling at the students that they have to do more faster, then don't worry. SAAS is just the opposite of that. It is a quirky, intellectual place where these nerdy students love debating philosophy and ethics for hours on end. They also have a lot of fun.

This is a bit hyperbolic. Who mentioned teachers yelling at students and mind-numbing coursework even?

There can be legitimate issues with the AP model and focus that has nothing to do with a teachers temperament or ability. There are constraints placed on the teachers and the curriculum because of AP. Why is that so hard to acknowledge?

I really didn't feel there were any issues with AP classes at SAAS. Frankly, I don't think the teacher's there care all that much if the students get a very high score. If there are constraints, I don't feel any of their teachers felt any urge to abide by them.

[Anonymous]

For those that find no issue with a heavy AP focus — Are the majority of the top area privates that are phasing them out doing so for no legitimate reason? Or is it that you believe SAAS approaches them in a way much more unique, thus eliminating the problematic issues the other schools felt the College Board APs brought with them?

[Anonymous]

Private schools don't like APs because it looks really bad when their students do poorly. Raises too many questions of, "what exactly am I paying for, again?" Schools generally hate tests that allow parents to objectively compare their students to those at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Keep telling yourself that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private schools don't like APs because it looks really bad when their students do poorly. Raises too many questions of, "what exactly am I paying for, again?" Schools generally hate tests that allow parents to objectively compare their students to those at other schools.

This × a billion

[Anonymous]

Yeah, they are all so worried it makes them raise their tuitions. APs offer no useful benefit when you can afford to go to the college of your choice.

[Anonymous]

Parent of an SAAS grad. I asked him if he thought there was too much emphasis on APs and he had no idea what I was talking about. He took 11 or 12 APs in HS. I think we bought the AP study guide for 3 of those, because it was required for the class. He did not study for the exams- he just went to class and actively participated. He scored well enough to receive the max credit possible for undergrad. As a parent, the number of APs he was taking never concerned me. I agree with the PP that the teachers are not overly concerned with the specifics of the AP requirements. The classes hit the marks for the AP designation by the nature of how they are taught; they are in depth and engaging for the boys who thrive in an intellectual environment and the AP results take care of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. The system works for SAAS. Other schools might not like it, but who cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are twisting your internals out of shape, then I guess your kids aren't cut out for high stress, highly competitive colleges and universities. Your kids and you will be better off sending them to cuddly, caring, no stress, LACs and humanities majors. There will be lot of time to be well-rounded in all the non-academic areas. Have fun.

This answer shows that you obviously never learned how to discuss and debate a topic on its merits. Rather you attack those that raise questions and concerns about the status quo.

And you think calling a school an "AP mill" and start a discussion thread is a proper way to discuss and debate a topic on its merits. It may be for you, but it isn't for me.

[Anonymous]

I guess some SAAS parents are insufferable, thin-skinned, and unable to debate a topic without getting defensive and lashing out for no good reason.

No school is perfect, nobody was putting down the school, yet only voicing concern about the high emphasis on AP’s in light of all the criticism and concern over AP focused teaching in recent years. SAAS is no more special than any other top school in the areas, so stop being so petty when others bring up topics of concern.