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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Are you a first year teacher? Why else would you be asking parents to make instructional decisions for you. [/quote]

+1 from a different AP teacher. Ask other teachers at your school how it works. You're not the first to teach this class.[/quote]

Why such reaction? I am not a first year teacher. And I have been part of AP teacher community for years, and I have obviously went to AP Summer institutes,  and I am obviously aware of how other teachers approach this. But why wouldn’t I want to know what parents think (especially when public attitude to grading and testing is changing so much)? Why would you shame me for that? 
There are AP classes in my school where 95% kids have As and only 50% kids pass AP Exam (mostly with 3s) while VA and FCPS pass rates for that subject are around 70%. There are classes where grades are more representative of students actual knowledge but teacher uses crazy grade curve to encourage students to stay in class: most hardworking students get A and most students pass with at least a C. But most C students don’t pass exam, most B students get 2-3, and A students get 3-5 on the exam. Finally, there are AP classes where the class grades are very much predictive of the AP Exam grade, not because teacher distributes grades to match the percentages but simply because the grades are based on what students know or don’t know. Students who don’t get their act together in the first quarter are failing the class (and often chose to drop the class). 
I am sorry to say but responses like “good teacher teaches so that all students do well in class and do well on the AP exam” are just neither realistic nor helpful. And I also want to add that the choice the teacher makes here affects all students in class not just the top and bottom students. Again, I myself do not see how giving everyone an A is ok but could argue for either of the other two options . And just wanted to hear parents’ thoughts. [/quote]

My kids' school (not FCPS) handles APs like this:  The class grading is tough, so few kids have an A at the end of the year.  Class grades are retroactively changed based on AP performance, where a score of a 3 doesn't really change your grade, a 2 or 1 pretty significantly decreases your grade, a 4 bumps the final grade up almost a full letter grade, and a 5 more or less guarantees an A.  So, last year my kid had a B+ at the end of the year in AP Government, got a 5 on the exam, and now has an A in the class on their transcript.

FCPS would never allow this system, so it's irrelevant for you.  It does avoid kids skipping the AP exam, and it helps make the school look less ridiculous when there are kids with As in a class who fail the AP exam.  It would also help in cases like the PP, where the kid gets a 5 on the test but only a C in the class, which is flat out absurd.  [/quote]

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