Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 14:53     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I found that MCPS has 2 AP Biology classes
- Double Period AP Bio, 1 credit per semester - 2 credits at the end of the year
- 1 period AP Bio, 0.5 credit per semester - 1 credit for the year.

hope this helps!


I mean I get that from the perspective that its two class periods all year long. However from a class perspective it makes no sense since its not covering anymore material


But perhaps it means they can spend more time on the tough material rather than just touching on it and rushing through. You can "cover" material in a very short amount of time, but that doesn't mean students are well prepared.

For what it's worth, the AP Biology tests has a very low rate of people scoring a 5, only 7.2% (data from a previous year here: https://blog.prepscholar.com/hardest-ap-classes-and-tests). Extra prep time in class is a good thing! In my DC's case, the double period bio was a tough class, but DC got an A and a 5 on the exam without being overwhelmed by homework.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 13:39     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:also following this thread!

So 3 kids - who have same extracurriculars, same grades/same subjects/AP's etc. but go to 3 different schools in MCPS apply to the same college. How will their applications be compared? Wouldn't all 3 schools claim that the kid took the most rigorous course available in their school? But the honors program in PHS is harder than QO and NW - these are the only 3 schools I can confidently speak to.

Colleges directly compare students to other students at the same school.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 13:37     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:Why would a double period be needed except for on lab days?

Because the course has to fit within the entire school schedule all year. You can’t have one class randomly staying for two class periods. RM’s AP Chem teacher redesigned the chem labs to have a break point so they can spread over two days and the course can be single periods. They have a lot of reading homework due to reduced lecture time.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 12:08     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:I found that MCPS has 2 AP Biology classes
- Double Period AP Bio, 1 credit per semester - 2 credits at the end of the year
- 1 period AP Bio, 0.5 credit per semester - 1 credit for the year.

hope this helps!


I mean I get that from the perspective that its two class periods all year long. However from a class perspective it makes no sense since its not covering anymore material
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 10:49     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:School report to colleges includes things like average SAT scores for the class, I believe.


Yes each school has an individual profile that includes things like GPA distribution (so yes they know MCPS is generous). A transcript will show whether a kid took a double or single period class. It will not show if your kid ended up with the ENglish teacher who assigned 2x the written work as the other English teacher teaching the same class but those things even out over the 4 years.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 10:45     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
I found that MCPS has 2 AP Biology classes
- Double Period AP Bio, 1 credit per semester - 2 credits at the end of the year
- 1 period AP Bio, 0.5 credit per semester - 1 credit for the year.

hope this helps!
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 10:19     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Why would a double period be needed except for on lab days?
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 10:10     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
School report to colleges includes things like average SAT scores for the class, I believe.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 09:20     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
also following this thread!

So 3 kids - who have same extracurriculars, same grades/same subjects/AP's etc. but go to 3 different schools in MCPS apply to the same college. How will their applications be compared? Wouldn't all 3 schools claim that the kid took the most rigorous course available in their school? But the honors program in PHS is harder than QO and NW - these are the only 3 schools I can confidently speak to.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 08:42     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:Is AP Bio Double period only in some schools? My DC is considering it for next year - in his school it will be a double period. He says it's not a double period in other schools. Why would this be different across high schools within MCPS? I thought AP content is dictated by College Board and will be the same across the country.

Also we recently found that English Honors syllabus in a magnet school is different (harder) than English Honors in a non-magnet school. Is this true? Does MCPS provide details on what's different in Magnet high schools versus non-magnet?

can anyone shed light on the differences in Honors curriculum? Very confused on how GPA across schools in MCPS will be evaluated by colleges.

Thanks!



A standard curriculm does not mean the same lessons and assignments are taught in each class. My kids have noted that even in the same school/same class the work load can be different by talking to friends.
Anonymous
Post 10/04/2020 08:15     Subject: Re:AP Biology - double period in all schools?
I think AP Bio is double period everywhere - the labs drive it. AP chem and AP physics are sometimes single period, sometimes double period, depending on the school, pre-req classes (and what actually gets covered in them) and level of outside homework expected.
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2020 23:00     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
DD did a double-period AP Bio class last year. There's a ton of material to cover (lots of discoveries since I took the class in the 1990s!), so having twice the time to do labs, etc., seemed to make sense. She got a 5, so the time was well spent.
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2020 21:42     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Anonymous wrote:Is AP Bio Double period only in some schools? My DC is considering it for next year - in his school it will be a double period. He says it's not a double period in other schools. Why would this be different across high schools within MCPS? I thought AP content is dictated by College Board and will be the same across the country.

Also we recently found that English Honors syllabus in a magnet school is different (harder) than English Honors in a non-magnet school. Is this true? Does MCPS provide details on what's different in Magnet high schools versus non-magnet?

can anyone shed light on the differences in Honors curriculum? Very confused on how GPA across schools in MCPS will be evaluated by colleges.

Thanks!



The colleges know about the programs the kids attend. Or at least the competitive colleges do.
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2020 20:52     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Nit sure on bio but at Blair they offer both single and double period AP Chem
Anonymous
Post 10/03/2020 20:50     Subject: AP Biology - double period in all schools?
Is AP Bio Double period only in some schools? My DC is considering it for next year - in his school it will be a double period. He says it's not a double period in other schools. Why would this be different across high schools within MCPS? I thought AP content is dictated by College Board and will be the same across the country.

Also we recently found that English Honors syllabus in a magnet school is different (harder) than English Honors in a non-magnet school. Is this true? Does MCPS provide details on what's different in Magnet high schools versus non-magnet?

can anyone shed light on the differences in Honors curriculum? Very confused on how GPA across schools in MCPS will be evaluated by colleges.

Thanks!