Reply to skipping intro classes on HS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My child took AP Physics 1 in 9th grade and AP Bio in junior year with no prereqs. Took honors chem in 10th and AP Calc in 11th. [/quote]

Forgot to add that he thought Honors chemistry was a waste of time and should have taken AP chem. [/quote]

I don't know why they make kids take regular chem before AP chem - it wasn't always this way. I think it's related to a sentiment in my school that is used to judge whether a child is "ready" for AP - they will not be accepted in the AP pre-screeners our school has set up if the teacher thinks the student will get a "B".  That seems odd to me and likely to cut a lot of students out who could benefit from the challenge. [/quote]

They want to avoid students getting into the class unprepared, because this slows down the class. AP classes are for students capable of taking college level classes. For science classes like Physics and chemistry you need to be on top of things.

Unprepared kids with pushy parents get into these classes and it doesn’t end good for the student.

If you need more evidence, take a look at an AP exam from college board for a realistic assessment.[/quote]

AP exams are post-tests, so they aren't helpful as pre-tests assessing readiness for enrollment.

MCPS creates this problem by forcing double-period AP sciences, just to make time for occasional labs.
AP does NOT recommend every day double-period. AP recommends a 104-to-125 day x 45minute pace, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-biology-course-at-a-glance_0.pdf

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-biology-course-and-exam-description.pdf

"Flexible or modular scheduling may be implemented in order to meet the time requirements identified in the course outline for lab and field experiences. 
You may find that [b]at minimum, one double period a week[/b] is needed to allow adequate time for authentic lab experiences"

Other schools do things like mixing PE into the double-period, instead of MCPS absurdity of having 1 of 4 years be the "PE every day year"

[/quote]

My child took AP Bio (without a prerequisite) in 11th grade at Blair. The class wasn't a double-period so it went fast. Some kids did struggle. [/quote]

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