are AP exams really necessary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous




"The problem with APs, is that it has become the de facto “most rigorous” course load at a high school.

Although a college may not accept the credits, most still make the “rigorous” consideration (for admissions) based on how many your student took while in high school."

So don't take the exams.

This strategy won't work if the APs were taken sophomore or junior year. The colleges will want to know how the student fared.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hmmm. Would a student who took and passed General Chem at their local CC be able to get a 4 or 5 on the AP Chem test w/o additional study?

Would a student who took AP Chem and achieved or 4 or 5 on the AP exam be able to take and pass the Gen Chem final at their local CC w/o any additional study?

Are the courses truly interchangeable? Are the exams of equal difficulty? I wonder if anyone has studied this?

My nephew went to a SLAC and tried to bypass Calc 1 and 2 after taking AP Calc BC. Huge mistake. One year of BC will never ever get you past two rigorous Calc courses. He had to withdrawl and start over. Lost a semester. Kids skipping Calc AB are having the worst issues with it b

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmm. Would a student who took and passed General Chem at their local CC be able to get a 4 or 5 on the AP Chem test w/o additional study?

Would a student who took AP Chem and achieved or 4 or 5 on the AP exam be able to take and pass the Gen Chem final at their local CC w/o any additional study?

Are the courses truly interchangeable? Are the exams of equal difficulty? I wonder if anyone has studied this?

My nephew went to a SLAC and tried to bypass Calc 1 and 2 after taking AP Calc BC. Huge mistake. One year of BC will never ever get you past two rigorous Calc courses. He had to withdrawl and start over. Lost a semester. Kids skipping Calc AB are having the worst issues with it b

Yeah, they probably shouldn't be skipping Calc 1 but having AB under their belts going into Calc 1 should make things easier for them.. AB is a nice preview. If they're good on their precal and trig they should be good to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My college professor sibling in a science field said that the students who struggle the most in her class are the ones who received AP credit for the intro level course and were able to skip it and go directly to her course. The material they learned and receiving a 4 or 5 on the test is NOT equal to the depth of the material taught in the level 101 course according to her. She strongly advised against taking APs for credit and did the same for her kids.

I teach history and it's the same thing. Kids come into my 200 and occasionally 300 level classes their very first semester and think they're hotshots. They are often brutally unprepared for college level work, unaware that there will not be hand-holding, and completely unable to write coherently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous




"The problem with APs, is that it has become the de facto “most rigorous” course load at a high school.

Although a college may not accept the credits, most still make the “rigorous” consideration (for admissions) based on how many your student took while in high school."

So don't take the exams.

This strategy won't work if the APs were taken sophomore or junior year. The colleges will want to know how the student fared.

You don't have to send your scores with your application. It is not part of the common ap. They will just see the class on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous

"The problem with APs, is that it has become the de facto “most rigorous” course load at a high school.

Although a college may not accept the credits, most still make the “rigorous” consideration (for admissions) based on how many your student took while in high school."

So don't take the exams.

This strategy won't work if the APs were taken sophomore or junior year. The colleges will want to know how the student fared.

You don't have to send your scores with your application. It is not part of the common ap. They will just see the class on the transcript.

True, but if your scores are 4s or 5s, students tend to mention this. So if you don't mention them...

[Anonymous]

Some privates ask their kids to take AP exams even though they don't offer AP classes. I think they want to see if their curriculum stacks up to the AP curriculum. My kid did this and scored all 5s so I think it helped him in admissions. Or at least his counselor said it did and he got into his reach schools. But he took his early senior year or maybe even junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some privates ask their kids to take AP exams even though they don't offer AP classes. I think they want to see if their curriculum stacks up to the AP curriculum. My kid did this and scored all 5s so I think it helped him in admissions. Or at least his counselor said it did and he got into his reach schools. But he took his early senior year or maybe even junior year.

You can't take an AP exam early senior year. They are only offered once - in May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some privates ask their kids to take AP exams even though they don't offer AP classes. I think they want to see if their curriculum stacks up to the AP curriculum. My kid did this and scored all 5s so I think it helped him in admissions. Or at least his counselor said it did and he got into his reach schools. But he took his early senior year or maybe even junior year.

You can't take an AP exam 'early' senior year. The only testing window is in May.

[Anonymous]

So it must have been junior year. He is in college now so its hard to remember.

[Anonymous]

In many school districts, you don't get the extra quality point unless you take the exam. While I it's not true everywhere, I think most of the school districts around here pay for the exams as well so why not take it? As for the using the credit in college, I probably wouldn't advise an Engineering major to opt out of freshman Calc or Physics, but if my non-Stem major can get credit for Calculus, which other than Statistics is his terminal math class and lab sciences by taking the AP Calc and AP Physics exams, I say go for it. It leaves more room for a minor or a double-major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In many school districts, you don't get the extra quality point unless you take the exam. While I it's not true everywhere, I think most of the school districts around here pay for the exams as well so why not take it? As for the using the credit in college, I probably wouldn't advise an Engineering major to opt out of freshman Calc or Physics, but if my non-Stem major can get credit for Calculus, which other than Statistics is his terminal math class and lab sciences by taking the AP Calc and AP Physics exams, I say go for it. It leaves more room for a minor or a double-major.

DC pays for AP exams.

MCPS only pays for low-income families. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools/churchillhs/news/MCPS%20AP%20Exam%20Fee%20Assistance%20Request%20Form_FY%202018%20rev.pdf

FCPS will pay for the first six AP exams https://www.fcps.edu/activityandtestfees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In many school districts, you don't get the extra quality point unless you take the exam. While I it's not true everywhere, I think most of the school districts around here pay for the exams as well so why not take it? As for the using the credit in college, I probably wouldn't advise an Engineering major to opt out of freshman Calc or Physics, but if my non-Stem major can get credit for Calculus, which other than Statistics is his terminal math class and lab sciences by taking the AP Calc and AP Physics exams, I say go for it. It leaves more room for a minor or a double-major.

MCPS doesn’t pay for squat. They also don’t knock you if you don’t take, and they also don’t count any point of the grade released in July as part of a final grade. The sole purpose is to inflate their grades.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. APS pays for all AP exams. But, then again everybody gets a free MacBook Air. So, money is obviously no issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hmmm. Would a student who took and passed General Chem at their local CC be able to get a 4 or 5 on the AP Chem test w/o additional study?

Would a student who took AP Chem and achieved or 4 or 5 on the AP exam be able to take and pass the Gen Chem final at their local CC w/o any additional study?

Are the courses truly interchangeable? Are the exams of equal difficulty? I wonder if anyone has studied this?

My nephew went to a SLAC and tried to bypass Calc 1 and 2 after taking AP Calc BC. Huge mistake. One year of BC will never ever get you past two rigorous Calc courses. He had to withdrawl and start over. Lost a semester. Kids skipping Calc AB are having the worst issues with it b

My oldest, based on similar advice, opted to retake Second semester calculus in college and said it was a waste of his time, everything was review. The only bonus was an easy A. Our younger son took BC Calculus his junior year in HS and the GMU co-curriular class for Matrix Algebra and Multivariable Calculus. He took differential equations fall freshman year and he was fine- got an A. I have heard similar experiences from parents of their peers. I think our HS must be exceptional in their math prep.