Anonymous wrote:Back in the day I took 3 AP’s and got 2’s on all of them! I’m happy to report I am now a productive member of society and am very happy 😂

Exactly. My 1 on AP French and Calc hasn't held me back

Anonymous wrote:What subject was the 3 in? Was it in area where the student might major in college?

OP said Gov.

Are there practice tests for it? Did student take any? How did they go?

OP was a junior? Maybe they need another year to be ready.

What subject was the 3 in? Was it in area where the student might major in college?

OP, this is your fault. You are raising her in a high pressure and competitive environment and it’s not healthy. Why is she discussing AP exam scores with her friends? Why is she devastated over a damned 3? Is this really the way you want to raise her? I guarantee you a few years from now she’s going to be super bitter and blame you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Some of my strongest students in my AP classes are terrible test takers. I’ve never considered a score to be a solid indicator of college readiness. I have 20 years of experience watching average test takers (but great students) move on to strong colleges and advanced degrees. I have a relative with two masters and a PhD (all from great colleges) and he bombed the SAT and the GRE.

My own child just scored a 2 on one of his exams. I’m not that upset, and neither is he. He’ll be prepared for college and that score isn’t going to keep him out.

Genuine Question: How can someone be a strong student and a "terrible test taker"? Part of being a strong student involves demonstrating mastery of the subject matter. If you bomb all the tests and quizzes, then how are they demonstrating mastery?

That's like saying, "I'm an incredible actor. I just have terrible stage fright and freeze up on stage." You can't be a great actor if you can't perform when the spotlight is on....

And if you're not good at taking tests due to emotional/mental needs, a strong student should be self-aware and ensure they have the appropriate accommodations to compensate for that?

I’m the teacher PP.

There are many, many ways to demonstrate content knowledge. Multiple choice questions and formatted essays aren’t the only way. I actually prefer choice and project-based assignments for that very reason. I can actually see what my students know, and not what they memorized. (… and I am a highly regarded teacher who takes assessment methods courses on my own time each summer.)

People take test prep sessions to learn the skills associated with taking a test… the strategy. I have also had mediocre students who are good at test strategy.

I don’t see a clear correlation between high test scores and high performance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Some of my strongest students in my AP classes are terrible test takers. I’ve never considered a score to be a solid indicator of college readiness. I have 20 years of experience watching average test takers (but great students) move on to strong colleges and advanced degrees. I have a relative with two masters and a PhD (all from great colleges) and he bombed the SAT and the GRE.

My own child just scored a 2 on one of his exams. I’m not that upset, and neither is he. He’ll be prepared for college and that score isn’t going to keep him out.

Genuine Question: How can someone be a strong student and a "terrible test taker"? Part of being a strong student involves demonstrating mastery of the subject matter. If you bomb all the tests and quizzes, then how are they demonstrating mastery?

That's like saying, "I'm an incredible actor. I just have terrible stage fright and freeze up on stage." You can't be a great actor if you can't perform when the spotlight is on....

And if you're not good at taking tests due to emotional/mental needs, a strong student should be self-aware and ensure they have the appropriate accommodations to compensate for that?

And here I thought the major part of being a strong student was learning the subject matter.

Anonymous wrote:DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.

Lots of people get a 3. Lots and lots and lots of people.

Is she a rising senior? Then now would be a good time to wonder how prepared she is for college, NOT based on the AP test score.

If she's not a rising senior? Wait until she is, then see above.

What grade is she in? Public schools tend to push APs as early as 9th grade which is ridiculous IMO.

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Some of my strongest students in my AP classes are terrible test takers. I’ve never considered a score to be a solid indicator of college readiness. I have 20 years of experience watching average test takers (but great students) move on to strong colleges and advanced degrees. I have a relative with two masters and a PhD (all from great colleges) and he bombed the SAT and the GRE.

My own child just scored a 2 on one of his exams. I’m not that upset, and neither is he. He’ll be prepared for college and that score isn’t going to keep him out.

Genuine Question: How can someone be a strong student and a "terrible test taker"? Part of being a strong student involves demonstrating mastery of the subject matter. If you bomb all the tests and quizzes, then how are they demonstrating mastery?

That's like saying, "I'm an incredible actor. I just have terrible stage fright and freeze up on stage." You can't be a great actor if you can't perform when the spotlight is on....

And if you're not good at taking tests due to emotional/mental needs, a strong student should be self-aware and ensure they have the appropriate accommodations to compensate for that?

Back in the day I took 3 AP’s and got 2’s on all of them! I’m happy to report I am now a productive member of society and am very happy 😂

A 3 on an AP exam is passing and gets credit at many, many colleges. I wish your kid got a 5 as well, but wow. It isn't like they failed out of school. Questioning college readiness because they took a college test in HS and passed?

I need to log off.

My DD got a 3 and I was thrilled. It is her first exam. over 30% got a 1 or 2. Breathe.

Teacher here. Some of my strongest students in my AP classes are terrible test takers. I’ve never considered a score to be a solid indicator of college readiness. I have 20 years of experience watching average test takers (but great students) move on to strong colleges and advanced degrees. I have a relative with two masters and a PhD (all from great colleges) and he bombed the SAT and the GRE.

My own child just scored a 2 on one of his exams. I’m not that upset, and neither is he. He’ll be prepared for college and that score isn’t going to keep him out.

My DD is a rising junior at an MCPS school and I could have written your post word for word. No encouraging words to say, only that I sympathize. I wonder about her college readiness as well.

My kids got 1s and 2s on their AP exams, despite getting A's and B's in the class. Like you, I think it also proves they're probably not college ready, which I kind of already knew and have warned them about. I think freshman year for one of my kids is going to be brutal. But again, I knew that because he struggled massively with the SAT.

A portion of this discrepancy I lay at the kids' feet because I think these kids never learned how to study due to COVID and relaxed expectations. To do well on these tests, you have to be motivated, disciplined and willing to put in the time and the effort. I bought my kids the AP Princeton AP study guides, and I can tell you they barely touched them. I fought with them about whether they were prepared for the tests and they insisted they were. Now that the exam scores have come out, all they can do is shrug.

But I also have to question MCPS, because how are kids getting A's and B's in your AP classes but 1-3 on the AP tests? That suggest grade inflation and lowered rigor, which shows up when the kids have to take a national test that doesn't match the difficulty level of what they were doing in the classroom.

MCPS is not setting up our kids for success and they need to be holding themselves accountable to not just kids taking the AP classes, but how many are doing well on the exams. Because it's clear that it's very easy to give kids A's and B's in the class and still have them tank the exams.

DD took her first AP exam (AP Gov) this year and scored a 3 after studying like crazy and earning an A in the class. She feels so defeated and embarrassed that all her friends (including those younger than her) received 4/5 scores. Please share some encouraging words. Nothing I say is getting through to her. We know she is a terrible test taker (3.94 UWGPA but bombed the PSAT) so this is nothing new, but it’s still discouraging and makes me wonder how prepared she really is for college.