Depends on the school, but DD had a positive experience in Spanish 5 and noted that the topics discussed in class were very similar to AP Spanish Language.

After Spanish 4, you can take Spanish 5, jump straight to AP, or do 5 then AP. Spanish 5 is no harder than Spanish 4 in my DD’s experience. She was in 5 this past year as a sophomore but it was in the same classroom while the teacher also taught AP simultaneously. The difference in workload was huge. Her best friend was in AP and hated it due to the bad workload, even though she liked learning Spanish. If your DD is committed she can do it, but gaining experience with 5 first and working with a tutor will probably help a lot.

How much written work is there? How much speaking? Not sure DD is ready for it. Can she take a break from Spanish one year in school, work with a tutor and then come back to it? Is there a course after Spanish IV that she can take that is not AP?