Anonymous wrote:Which high school are people at? At Einstein APUSH is being recommended Freshman year. Why is it different at different schools?

I think there are lots of individual factors over time that resulted in the different pathways at the different schools. For Einstein, I've heard (and I'm sure other posters will correct me if I am wrong, as I don't have personal knowledge) that some years ago, there was a fantastic teacher who was dismayed at the writing abilities of the kids coming into 9th grade and decided to do something about it by starting the APUSH class in 9th grade so that she could train the kids early. I know that APUSH isn't a writing class, but from what I understand she used it to teach writing. That teacher is no longer at the school, but the pathway continues. It's good for schools to adapt to the strengths and interests of their teachers, as well as the needs of their students, but over time maybe the choices don't always continue to make sense. Not saying that's true for Einstein APUSH, as we don't have experience with that class.

Anonymous wrote:Which high school are people at? At Einstein APUSH is being recommended Freshman year. Why is it different at different schools?

We've discussed this in several threads (use search function). Don't let them put your DC in APUSH in 9th grade. Einstein's scores are lower than both the national and MCPS average in APUSH (probably because of this strategy.) Insist on AP US Government instead. They should do APUSH as 10th or 11th grader.

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/sharedaccountability/reports/2018/2017%20AP%20IB%20Course%20Enrollment%20and%20Exam%20Participation%20Performance.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which high school are people at? At Einstein APUSH is being recommended Freshman year. Why is it different at different schools?

Some schools seem to push AP Gov freshman year and leave APUSH for sophomore year because they care more about the test scores. Some schools care more about participation rates in AP classes and AP Gov is a very doable class for a large number of sophomores.

At our school you can do multiple tracks: AP NSL to APUSH or Honors US to AP NSL or Honors US to honors NSL. Or US to NSL.

Anonymous wrote:Which high school are people at? At Einstein APUSH is being recommended Freshman year. Why is it different at different schools?

Some schools seem to push AP Gov freshman year and leave APUSH for sophomore year because they care more about the test scores. Some schools care more about participation rates in AP classes and AP Gov is a very doable class for a large number of sophomores.

My senior did it as a freshman through the APEX program at WJ which requires it (AP NSL then APUSH then AP World) and really loved it. A good many of her friends not in the program did as well for a mix of reasons but mainly desire to do APUSH in 10th as only honors US History is offered in 9th, being infatuated with the idea of APs, and interest in the subject. More kids took H US History in 9th and AP NSL in 10th but then they totally missed APUSH.

Mine took it in 9th and it was his favorite class. It was some work, but not an overwhelming amount by any stretch. There were some group projects, but he really enjoyed those. He got a 5 on the test. The teacher happened to be particularly good, but that was generally the case for the AP teachers at his school.

Which high school are people at? At Einstein APUSH is being recommended Freshman year. Why is it different at different schools?

My kid is taking it-- I think it is proving to be a fair bit of work, don't know if it's her favorite class but it's a manageable challenge.

It's my 9th graders favorite class too (rest are honors except for the 2 electives).

My DC told me one reason AP NSL is easy is that you can just write in bullet points for the "essay" answers. Other APs require more traditional essay format.

For those kids that read some kind if real news periodically AP NSL is easier because those students already have some basic knowledge. If a kid only teads BuzzFeed listicles or ESPN, it's a bit harder.

My 9th grader did it and did fine. It's usually a semester-long AP that's offered over two semesters. Much less work than my now-10th grader is doing in APUSH.

But you know your kid best and you have to balance it with the rest of the courseload, extracurriculars, etc.

My 9th grader is taking AP NSL. It's her favorite class this year.

Is anyone allowing their 8th grader register for this class next year?
Some people have mentioned it is one of the easier AP classes and a good way for new HS kids to dip their toes in AP pool.