Reply to Are AP exam scores factored into admission decision?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The individuals responding "No" to this question are delusional. Why WOULDN'T admissions consider them? I swear, this era of hiding your test results is really bizarre!

For most applicants, if you submit an application test optional, OF COURSE they don't think it's because you couldn't afford the ACT/SAT test registration fee, or that the available test center was too far from your home. They think you bombed the test.

Likewise, if you submit your grades and the submitted transcript shows all A grades in AP classes that have been grade-inflated into oblivion, but you don't disclose your AP test results, OF COURSE they don't think it's because you couldn't afford the test registration fees, or that you had to take care of your kid brother during the test window(s) in May, etc. They think you bombed the test(s).

And when it comes to the AP tests, electing not to report your scores is even more damning because it only takes a 75% or whatever to attain a 5 on these tests. What does it say about your A grades if your mastery of the subject matter cannot even satisfy a 75% threshold?[/quote]

I think the focus AP test scores and prep varies from school to school and sometimes teacher to teacher. At DC's above-average high school, most of the AP teachers focus on a deeper understanding of the subject and not the test. But the AP teachers at DC's rival school reputedly focus their curriculum almost entirely on preparing for each AP test. It's become something of a controversy at DC's school, with a certain camp of parents appreciating the "deeper understanding" approach and another camp just wanting the teachers to do whatever possible to get their kids into the best college. I find myself in the middle. I worked in Asia for a couple years and have real misgivings about test-centric pedagogy. On the other hand, it sucked that my DC had to do a lot of extracurricular self-study to get good scores on her AP classes.[/quote]

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