Proposed APS Calendar Policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

The problem is with how they wrote the policy. If they made clear that we would end the first week of June, they would have had much less opposition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

The problem is with how they wrote the policy. If they made clear that we would end the first week of June, they would have had much less opposition.

Yeah. No.
the complainers are hard-set against starting before Labor Day and losing their summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

I’m an APS teacher. APS is K-12 (even some Pre-K). The entire school population should not be held hostage for such a small segment of the study body. Think of another alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

I’m an APS teacher. APS is K-12 (even some Pre-K). The entire school population should not be held hostage for such a small segment of the study body. Think of another alternative.

Starting school one week earlier is holding you hostage? When many, many other districts start even earlier? I think you need some perspective.

Also I dunno what you mean by small percentage of the school population. Doesn't APS have a goal for every student to take an AP class? And you know the thing about kids? They tend to grow. Those pre schoolers will take AP exams too in time.

[Anonymous]

You're focusing way too much on AP exams. Quite a few kids end up taking more IB exams than AP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

I’m an APS teacher. APS is K-12 (even some Pre-K). The entire school population should not be held hostage for such a small segment of the study body. Think of another alternative.

Starting school one week earlier is holding you hostage? When many, many other districts start even earlier? I think you need some perspective.

Also I dunno what you mean by small percentage of the school population. Doesn't APS have a goal for every student to take an AP class? And you know the thing about kids? They tend to grow. Those pre schoolers will take AP exams too in time.

APS is a higher than average portion of the population that works in some capacity with or for the federal government. August is really the only down time most have to spend time with their families.

Are they supposed to get new jobs and potentially give up pensions so someone doesn’t have to submit a note to get an excused absence on a religious holiday? Are they supposed to completely reorder their lives so some kid doesn’t have to do makeup work on a day off they chose to take? Why should the choices of a minority trump the needs of the majority? Seriously.

AP classes aren’t for everyone. They are supposed to mimic the pace and rigor of college classes, which is why you get college credit for them if you do well on the exam. If all your kid can handle is kid-level work at kid-level pace, that is fine and completely acceptable because they are in fact kids. But the expectation for AP is that you are going to be working hard inside and outside the classroom. No participation trophies are awarded just for showing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're focusing way too much on AP exams. Quite a few kids end up taking more IB exams than AP.

Very few relative to the student body. It's obvious what school you are - only kids in one school even have access to IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June.

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. Guess that's not a value for others.

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else.

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams.

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS.

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out. Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year.

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction.

I’m an APS teacher. APS is K-12 (even some Pre-K). The entire school population should not be held hostage for such a small segment of the study body. Think of another alternative.

Starting school one week earlier is holding you hostage? When many, many other districts start even earlier? I think you need some perspective.

Also I dunno what you mean by small percentage of the school population. Doesn't APS have a goal for every student to take an AP class? And you know the thing about kids? They tend to grow. Those pre schoolers will take AP exams too in time.

APS is a higher than average portion of the population that works in some capacity with or for the federal government. August is really the only down time most have to spend time with their families.

Are they supposed to get new jobs and potentially give up pensions so someone doesn’t have to submit a note to get an excused absence on a religious holiday? Are they supposed to completely reorder their lives so some kid doesn’t have to do makeup work on a day off they chose to take? Why should the choices of a minority trump the needs of the majority? Seriously.

AP classes aren’t for everyone. They are supposed to mimic the pace and rigor of college classes, which is why you get college credit for them if you do well on the exam. If all your kid can handle is kid-level work at kid-level pace, that is fine and completely acceptable because they are in fact kids. But the expectation for AP is that you are going to be working hard inside and outside the classroom. No participation trophies are awarded just for showing up.

Most federal employees are not restricted to August as their time off.
You're being overly dramatic. So these handfuls of families can take vacation in early August and the long Labor Day weekend instead of the third or fourth weeks of August. Congress closes over the winter holidays, too.

[Anonymous]

What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

Also, moving the school year back one week has minimal impact on AP testing after you just added a week of new holidays, created an assumption that winter break will be at least two weeks, and go out of your way to find reasons to close schools on things like Election Day, or closing on the Friday before Veteran's Day when Veteran's Day falls on a Saturday. Kids taking AP tests are still worse off than they were before all those changes. It's clear they aren't the priority and the calendar isn't being developed for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

Also, moving the school year back one week has minimal impact on AP testing after you just added a week of new holidays, created an assumption that winter break will be at least two weeks, and go out of your way to find reasons to close schools on things like Election Day, or closing on the Friday before Veteran's Day when Veteran's Day falls on a Saturday. Kids taking AP tests are still worse off than they were before all those changes. It's clear they aren't the priority and the calendar isn't being developed for them.

Yes.
However, I don't believe calendars need to be constructed around AP exams specifically. They should be made based on what best facilitates instruction and learning in general - for everyone, not just those taking AP exams.

To the previous questions:
Value of AP exams is college credit, if the student passes with a high enough score. Some colleges accept a score of 3, others require higher. Getting the college credit for specific AP courses means a class the student doesn't need to take in college. That then (1) potentially decreases costs of college, depending on the # of college credits obtained; (2) frees up some time to take alternative classes/electives of interest; or (3) lightens the semester courseload for students. #3 is helpful for kids like mine who has difficulty juggling so many courses simultaneously. They were able to take a lighter load (4 instead of 5, for example) classes their first semester of college, helping ease their transition.

As to beginning a week earlier to facilitate better AP exam results: this is because AP exam dates are set by the College Board and are not set by the school district. So, theoretically, students beginning the school year later have less time to get through the course material and prepare for the exams. However, as you noted above, the additional days off negate that anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

I'd go for this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

It doesn't. One week doesn't provide that much more time to get through the material or to review or prepare. However, if even a few class periods affords the opportunity for students to do more review or a practice run, that's valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I don’t understand is how/why starting a week earlier = a better result on the AP exam?

Do APS students struggle on the AP exams such that the whole school system/families should rearrange their lives?

Are there not other, less burdensome means of improving AP scores? One idea: how about a five day school week on a more regular basis? Is their evidence that starting earlier is better than, for example, more practice exams?

What is the value of AP exams? Will colleges in face accept AP credit? Why are we all re arranging our lives for this?

It doesn't. One week doesn't provide that much more time to get through the material or to review or prepare. However, if even a few class periods affords the opportunity for students to do more review or a practice run, that's valuable.

So valuable that you'd be willing to replace holidays with an excused absence policy? Or a shorter winter break?n