What's the typical HS practice for taking APs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s math teacher is apoplectic about AP Pre Calc - it is not a college class. College-bound students should have taken pre-calculus, at a minimum, during high school.

My kid’s HS says 3 APs TOTAL is average on college profile, though anecdotally his friends all have several more. My kid has 6 classes and has taken/will take 7 exams. All 5s on the exams so far. He applied to top 20 school ED (not Ivy).

Although, once he knows where he is going, he will confirm the college accepts AP credit. His ED does (gets you out of core requirements). But, if he ends up elsewhere and they don’t accept, he isn’t going to sit for spring AP exams.

I took pre cal in college. Stats for my 2nd math. Comm major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not believe for one second the courses offered to 14 year old high school freshmen are true college level courses.

Of course they aren’t. But at many high schools, like my own kids’ mcps high school, it is a way of taking the highest level/modt rigorous courses. So frankly I don’t care if my kids repeat many of these classes in college, in fact I’d encourage them to repeat some if them like ap econ which is in no way equivalent to my first micro and macro classes in college— but I do want them ro be taking the most rigorous classes in their hs when appropriate for them from a learning and peer enagement stabdpoint.

But are they learning if it is really just teaching to a test? It may be different in your school, but many have a formulaic curriculum to teach facts, not analysis. It’s very old school. Facts can be looked up. True scholars are analytical. I get it if that’s the best the school offers, but why are we buying into this being good education? It’s big business for the CB, not good education.

I agree with you - but at my kids’ mcps HS it is the “deepest” class offered (kids aren’t encouraged to be more analyticsl in the honors/on level versions of these classes).

I totally get it that it’s usually the best option. It just bums me out that we think this is a good education. I feel like kids miss so much and waste so much time memorizing irrelevant facts that they can look up quickly on a phone if they ever need them. I think education should involve deeper thought, but it’s where we are.

[Anonymous]

At our school:

No freshman are allowed
Sophomores can only take AP Euro
Junior and senior can take as many as you want but you have to be approved to take more than three.

Exams are mandatory- you can't take the AP class just for the grade/weighted GPA boost. If you do not pay the AP exam fee in September you are removed from the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not believe for one second the courses offered to 14 year old high school freshmen are true college level courses.

It is at TJ. My kid had two freshman year, BCCALC and APCompSci and both went well past the AP curriculum.
Unless they went to a top school, many TJ grads report back that their undergrad university courses weren’t as difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not believe for one second the courses offered to 14 year old high school freshmen are true college level courses.

Of course they aren’t. But at many high schools, like my own kids’ mcps high school, it is a way of taking the highest level/modt rigorous courses. So frankly I don’t care if my kids repeat many of these classes in college, in fact I’d encourage them to repeat some if them like ap econ which is in no way equivalent to my first micro and macro classes in college— but I do want them ro be taking the most rigorous classes in their hs when appropriate for them from a learning and peer enagement stabdpoint.

But are they learning if it is really just teaching to a test? It may be different in your school, but many have a formulaic curriculum to teach facts, not analysis. It’s very old school. Facts can be looked up. True scholars are analytical. I get it if that’s the best the school offers, but why are we buying into this being good education? It’s big business for the CB, not good education.

I agree with you - but at my kids’ mcps HS it is the “deepest” class offered (kids aren’t encouraged to be more analyticsl in the honors/on level versions of these classes).

I totally get it that it’s usually the best option. It just bums me out that we think this is a good education. I feel like kids miss so much and waste so much time memorizing irrelevant facts that they can look up quickly on a phone if they ever need them. I think education should involve deeper thought, but it’s where we are.

I agree. Now that my son is in HS and I see the kind of work he's doing... it is pure memorization and no real deep thinking. All easy As.. just a matter of how much time you put into it. I can see why he might not be prepared to do well in college. We've decided we're not going to fall into the trap of racking up AP courses. Instead, he'll aim for straight As in honors and a reasonable amount of APs and focus
on his interests outside the classroom. We'll see where this takes him in terms of college admissions, and he is aiming for the top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not believe for one second the courses offered to 14 year old high school freshmen are true college level courses.

Of course they aren’t. But at many high schools, like my own kids’ mcps high school, it is a way of taking the highest level/modt rigorous courses. So frankly I don’t care if my kids repeat many of these classes in college, in fact I’d encourage them to repeat some if them like ap econ which is in no way equivalent to my first micro and macro classes in college— but I do want them ro be taking the most rigorous classes in their hs when appropriate for them from a learning and peer enagement stabdpoint.

But are they learning if it is really just teaching to a test? It may be different in your school, but many have a formulaic curriculum to teach facts, not analysis. It’s very old school. Facts can be looked up. True scholars are analytical. I get it if that’s the best the school offers, but why are we buying into this being good education? It’s big business for the CB, not good education.

I agree with you - but at my kids’ mcps HS it is the “deepest” class offered (kids aren’t encouraged to be more analyticsl in the honors/on level versions of these classes).

I totally get it that it’s usually the best option. It just bums me out that we think this is a good education. I feel like kids miss so much and waste so much time memorizing irrelevant facts that they can look up quickly on a phone if they ever need them. I think education should involve deeper thought, but it’s where we are.

I agree. Now that my son is in HS and I see the kind of work he's doing... it is pure memorization and no real deep thinking. All easy As.. just a matter of how much time you put into it. I can see why he might not be prepared to do well in college. We've decided we're not going to fall into the trap of racking up AP courses. Instead, he'll aim for straight As in honors and a reasonable amount of APs and focus
on his interests outside the classroom. We'll see where this takes him in terms of college admissions, and he is aiming for the top schools.

Yeah, I am with you. That's why I am worried for my kid. I don't believe he is not a real deep thinker, even-though he currently has near perfect GPA with around 17 APs so far. Mostly 4/5 on AP tests. He also got 1500+ SAT as well. He is also aiming for top colleges. Like you said, he is probably only memorizing irrelevant facts. Outside, he is a great athlete at individual sport so not really a group type of people. I hope he can contribute to society and not just getting rich for himself.

[Anonymous]

Each AP test fee is at least $100, no?

I'm pretty sure the cost for taking these AP exams ( you've got kids taking 10+ APs), especially if mandatory at a given school, have an impact on how many a student takes.

As with most aspects of college admissions, there's a socioeconomic factor at play as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing 0-1-3-4. I think that’s pretty typical for a strong (UMD, W&M, SLACs beyond T15) but not T20-bound student. For someone applying T20, at our school, which has no limits, I’d anticipate something like 1-2-4-5 or 2-2-4-4 (with post AP counting as AP).

You can't do that at our HS

9th: NONE ALLOWED
10TH: Only 1 allowed

This is how it should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each AP test fee is at least $100, no?

I'm pretty sure the cost for taking these AP exams ( you've got kids taking 10+ APs), especially if mandatory at a given school, have an impact on how many a student takes.

As with most aspects of college admissions, there's a socioeconomic factor at play as well.

My kids' HS pays for all the AP tests. That's only fair since they also require all kids who take the class to take the tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each AP test fee is at least $100, no?

I'm pretty sure the cost for taking these AP exams ( you've got kids taking 10+ APs), especially if mandatory at a given school, have an impact on how many a student takes.

As with most aspects of college admissions, there's a socioeconomic factor at play as well.

Fee waivers for AP tests. Should basically cost 0 for low income kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Each AP test fee is at least $100, no?

I'm pretty sure the cost for taking these AP exams ( you've got kids taking 10+ APs), especially if mandatory at a given school, have an impact on how many a student takes.

As with most aspects of college admissions, there's a socioeconomic factor at play as well.

Fee waivers for AP tests. Should basically cost 0 for low income kid.

For a family making 110K or whatever, $400 is still a lot but no waiver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not believe for one second the courses offered to 14 year old high school freshmen are true college level courses.

Of course they aren’t. But at many high schools, like my own kids’ mcps high school, it is a way of taking the highest level/modt rigorous courses. So frankly I don’t care if my kids repeat many of these classes in college, in fact I’d encourage them to repeat some if them like ap econ which is in no way equivalent to my first micro and macro classes in college— but I do want them ro be taking the most rigorous classes in their hs when appropriate for them from a learning and peer enagement stabdpoint.

But are they learning if it is really just teaching to a test? It may be different in your school, but many have a formulaic curriculum to teach facts, not analysis. It’s very old school. Facts can be looked up. True scholars are analytical. I get it if that’s the best the school offers, but why are we buying into this being good education? It’s big business for the CB, not good education.

Try taking the IB version then

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid’s math teacher is apoplectic about AP Pre Calc - it is not a college class. College-bound students should have taken pre-calculus, at a minimum, during high school.

My kid’s HS says 3 APs TOTAL is average on college profile, though anecdotally his friends all have several more. My kid has 6 classes and has taken/will take 7 exams. All 5s on the exams so far. He applied to top 20 school ED (not Ivy).

Although, once he knows where he is going, he will confirm the college accepts AP credit. His ED does (gets you out of core requirements). But, if he ends up elsewhere and they don’t accept, he isn’t going to sit for spring AP exams.

I took pre cal in college. Stats for my 2nd math. Comm major

Probably depends on which college you attended. I personally think colleges need classes for all levels of students but the “top” schools should require calc in high school and we should make sure all kids have access to take calc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our school:

No freshman are allowed
Sophomores can only take AP Euro
Junior and senior can take as many as you want but you have to be approved to take more than three.

Exams are mandatory- you can't take the AP class just for the grade/weighted GPA boost. If you do not pay the AP exam fee in September you are removed from the class.

This is how it is at our all-male private.

Honors courses are offered every year in every core subject. Many are just as tough or tougher than APs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My student at Langley took 1-3-6-7. He took PE during the summer and extra classes from the online campus.

That is way the outlier and I have insider info on Langley. Folks, even if true this is not norm at Langley where average accelerated path is total of 8-10 APs and the mode is probably 4-5 total APs.

The student aiming for T20 schools at Langley take 13-15 APs. 8 APs is laughable at Langley.

This is accurate for Langley. Current seniors could take AP freshman year, although this is generally not allowed for freshman anymore. Average track for people aiming for T20 is 1, 2, 5, 6 (14 total) and with PE in summer and double accelerated math you could do more. Not saying that is necessarily a good thing but that is what the top 5-10% of the class is doing.