Anonymous
02/09/2025 22:09
Subject: Re:CAP courses
Anonymous wrote:I’ve really found CAP to be an excellent program that pushes kids’ writing and critical thinking skills. My older child was in the Blair magnet and while it was also fantastic, I feel like my CAP kid is getting something really special out of how interdisciplinary the program is.
Agreed! Loved CAP. Definitely do it. Kid became great writer.
Anonymous
02/09/2025 15:32
Subject: Re:CAP courses
I’ve really found CAP to be an excellent program that pushes kids’ writing and critical thinking skills. My older child was in the Blair magnet and while it was also fantastic, I feel like my CAP kid is getting something really special out of how interdisciplinary the program is.
Anonymous
02/09/2025 14:52
Subject: CAP courses
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Regarding APUSH, the CAP curriculum is slightly different but every year a handful of kids attend regular meetings with the CAP9 US History teacher to prepare for the AP exam, mostly making sure they are confident with the test format and DBQs.
I think the biggest difference, though, is CAP9 and CAP10 English, because MCPS has abandoned actual honors English for those grades. That means the curriculum has been adjusted for a highly heterogenous classroom.
If MCPS brought back Honors and On-Level, I'd say doing CAP is not worth it for kids who are not very interested in journalism and film-making, but losing two years of English and writing instruction makes it feel like an easy choice.
Thanks very much! So some kids take the APUSH exam then — I didn’t realize that was a possibility if you didn’t take the class.
Good to know about English — it does make the choice easier.
Yes. I don't know how many kids take the test, but do know the teacher volunteers his time to help kids who want to take the exam prepare. That might be one of the other things I would highlight about CAP - the teachers seem relatively stable year-over-year. It's nice, because the CAP upperclassmen like to circle back and visit the younger ones with known teachers.
Anonymous
02/08/2025 20:00
Subject: CAP courses
Anonymous wrote:Regarding APUSH, the CAP curriculum is slightly different but every year a handful of kids attend regular meetings with the CAP9 US History teacher to prepare for the AP exam, mostly making sure they are confident with the test format and DBQs.
I think the biggest difference, though, is CAP9 and CAP10 English, because MCPS has abandoned actual honors English for those grades. That means the curriculum has been adjusted for a highly heterogenous classroom.
If MCPS brought back Honors and On-Level, I'd say doing CAP is not worth it for kids who are not very interested in journalism and film-making, but losing two years of English and writing instruction makes it feel like an easy choice.
Thanks very much! So some kids take the APUSH exam then — I didn’t realize that was a possibility if you didn’t take the class.
Good to know about English — it does make the choice easier.
Anonymous
02/08/2025 19:09
Subject: CAP courses
Regarding APUSH, the CAP curriculum is slightly different but every year a handful of kids attend regular meetings with the CAP9 US History teacher to prepare for the AP exam, mostly making sure they are confident with the test format and DBQs.
I think the biggest difference, though, is CAP9 and CAP10 English, because MCPS has abandoned actual honors English for those grades. That means the curriculum has been adjusted for a highly heterogenous classroom.
If MCPS brought back Honors and On-Level, I'd say doing CAP is not worth it for kids who are not very interested in journalism and film-making, but losing two years of English and writing instruction makes it feel like an easy choice.
I think the biggest difference, though, is CAP9 and CAP10 English, because MCPS has abandoned actual honors English for those grades. That means the curriculum has been adjusted for a highly heterogenous classroom.
If MCPS brought back Honors and On-Level, I'd say doing CAP is not worth it for kids who are not very interested in journalism and film-making, but losing two years of English and writing instruction makes it feel like an easy choice.
Anonymous
02/08/2025 00:25
Subject: CAP courses
My kid is considering accepting the invite to the CAP program at Blair. Blair is also the home school, so DC is weighing between “regular” Blair and CAP. Can anyone comment on how the 9th grade CAP English and CAP US history courses compare to 9th grade Honors English and APUSH? I was surprised that APUSH was not part of the CAP program.