We are at a private that dropped APs. It is still possible to take the APs with a little extra work. My DD took 7 and got 5s. She started reviewing in Feb/March. She only had to spend a couple of days on the language AP. She’ll graduate with 10/11 APs. If you are looking at UC schools or schools abroad you should have some APs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

because of the DEI and equity stuff. huge mistake when those seniors go and try to get into college

I’m confused. Which school system got rid of APs for “equity” purposes?

None of them. Idiots like PP don’t know how to type anything else.

If it doesn’t say AP, colleges do not treat it as an AP and weight accordingly. For schools getting 50K plus apps they don’t have time to tease out the nuances of private school course designation and your child’s transcript isn’t worth what it could be otherwise. Especially at UC schools.

Private schools can and do still indicate high-level/added rigor courses on the transcript, and grades should be weighted accordingly. My understanding is that dropping AP is more about choosing not to teach specifically to a test. Wish there were a private hs counselor in here, they could explain it better than I.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

because of the DEI and equity stuff. huge mistake when those seniors go and try to get into college

I’m confused. Which school system got rid of APs for “equity” purposes?

Not a single one.

Exactly why I still had my kids take the AP exams even though I had to pay extra for tutoring to “teach to the test”. Many of the DC elite privates are bringing the official AP classes back, especially in math and the sciences where the curriculum is more straightforward and prescribed. If you are a private STEM focused kid applying to big state schools it definitely helps to have the AP scores to prove you can do the work next to the public school kids who load up on the AP classes. Don’t drink the private school kool aid on this one!!

Anonymous wrote:Okay this really worries me. I am from a family of educators and I was liking the idea of teachers not being dictated to teach curriculum by some outside place. Is thought it would make classes more interesting. Never did I consider that this could be used as a vehicle to help VIPs/donors. i am actually thinking that many kids are not taking the advanced classes and maybe they knew better.

But in a lot of places it also means teachers can teach whatever they want. Sometimes that is good. And sometimes it is not. My kid was at a private where a lot of the classes just did not have much rigor. Would have much preferred an AP curriculum…and let them teach how they want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

because of the DEI and equity stuff. huge mistake when those seniors go and try to get into college

I’m confused. Which school system got rid of APs for “equity” purposes?

Okay this really worries me. I am from a family of educators and I was liking the idea of teachers not being dictated to teach curriculum by some outside place. Is thought it would make classes more interesting. Never did I consider that this could be used as a vehicle to help VIPs/donors. i am actually thinking that many kids are not taking the advanced classes and maybe they knew better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

because of the DEI and equity stuff. huge mistake when those seniors go and try to get into college

It’s not about DEI, I think it avoids transparency for private schools that have no AP classes. It makes it harder to compare private schools to public schools or other private schools. I would question a private school that had low AP pass rates.

Anonymous wrote:Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

because of the DEI and equity stuff. huge mistake when those seniors go and try to get into college

Anonymous wrote:Kids can still take exams but it allows teachers more freedom to teach their curriculum. I am supportive of this. I just assumed it would be fine. Still hoping but when I see that you get added points this is a pretty big deal. No one mentioned this. I am hoping a recent college family who has a school without AP (there were quite a few) can explain how it all panned out.

Why give teachers more freedom if the measure does not help students? Why teachers can teach whatever they want? The real reason is these private schools do not want to distinguish students so that big donors and VIPs' mediocre kids can get ahead of your smart kids. Same reason for no weighted GPAs, no ranking at these schools.

Kids can still take exams but it allows teachers more freedom to teach their curriculum. I am supportive of this. I just assumed it would be fine. Still hoping but when I see that you get added points this is a pretty big deal. No one mentioned this. I am hoping a recent college family who has a school without AP (there were quite a few) can explain how it all panned out.

Why would a school get rid of AP classes? It doesn't just give a GPA boost, it lets you earn college credits. I know kids who started college with sophomore standing.

I was supportive of this decision initially but am now rethinking. I have been looking at various college websites and many colleges recalculate GPA and add a point per AP class. Our school also also doesn’t weight the advanced classes. There are notes on the transcript but suddenly thinking this could be a problem that was never discussed. Our school has a very difficult curriculum for kids taking advanced. You could conceivably have kids who didn’t take advanced looking like the same student who didn’t take advanced and even worse when you compare schools with AP. I know several schools got rid of AP. How did this all work out?