Anonymous wrote:Yes, they can be long. I think somewhere between 20-30 pages a day.

Many times those 20-30 pages are content-rich too. They aren't light reading.

I think the rush to take AP classes freshman year is unnecessary. The children have so much peer pressure and pressure from counselors to take these classes. It may make the HS look good for more kids to be taking AP classes, but it's not always good for the kids.

Anonymous wrote:DC is trying to decide for next year. She is a fast reader and strong writer, but anticipates a heavy workload next year. Are the daily reading assignments long? 50 pp? 100 pp?

TIA!

Maybe you've heard all these classes are fake honors classes. They're super easy.

Anonymous wrote:Remember that AP exams happen a month before school ends. Which means that the teachers do not have a lot of time to finish the curriculum or do a good job with the last few chapters.
My kid used the summer break before new school year to get started on APs that require more reading. Easy 5s in all.
- Just be consistent and study every day,
- get the class account to do online practise sooner rather than later
- start during summer break if possible
- understand the the AP exams happen a month before school ends. This means that you have less time in the school year to finish the curriculum. Don’t rely on the teacher.

I really wish people would stop perpetuating the notion that there is not enough time. AP classes are “supposed” to be college level intro classes, with a class like APUSH covering US History 1 and US History 2. Most colleges on a semester system are 15wks w/ finals in mid December and early/mid May, which is usually the last 1-2 wks of a semester(including breaks). Meaning a college completes the course contents in about 13-13.5 wks. A traditional school year is 36 weeks. Even with exams in the first weeks of May, HS teachers would have 30 weeks to cover the content (and that’s taking out time for Winter and Spring break). Thus, it’s not that teachers don’t have time to cover the content, it instead should be understood that AP classes require a degree of out of class effort so as to keep up with the teacher’s pacing. It aLao should be understood that a teacher is not going to cover every single point in depth but instead going to hit them all, and cover in depth the key themes and connections that need to be made. The rest of the detail is up to the student to read/research and fill in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the added work during the school year mostly reading? My child would be in the Blair Magnet but likes history and writes well. Seems like most magnet kids are not taking APUSH and take regular/honors instead. Just trying to get a sense of what exactly she would be adding to her plate by taking AP. Is it mostly an hour of reading? How often are there meaningful writing assignments too and how much does that add. Thanks for any insight.

My kid was in Poolesville magnet when magnet track was based on merit. All magnet kids took APUSH and were adept in time management and studying strategically. It really depends on how efficient your kid is. Minimum of daily 1 hour per AP is the conventional wisdom, but the cohort was juggling 4 APs and still managing all homework in a couple hours at home.

What other kids do is meaningless for your kid. They should do whatever they can handle. Because, mental health is more important than course rigor. This is a marathon not a sprint. So your kid must learn to pace themself.

Oh aren’t you superior with your “based on merit” kid! You do know that admission to the magnet is still based on merit, don’t you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do understand that the kids do not have to take the AP exam even when they take the AP course? They will still earn a grade that goes in their transcript.

Ap exam grades (1-5) is not in the transcript.

Of course. But if the goal is to rack up as much college credit as possible or to appear as college ready as possible for more competitive schools, then the exams will be more of importance.

Agreed. I would rather my kid just take the honors version than have them take an AP class and skip out on the AP exam. From the angles of both competitive college admissions and keeping my kid accountable, I don't think it makes sense for them to take an AP class without taking the AP exam.

Anonymous wrote:You do understand that the kids do not have to take the AP exam even when they take the AP course? They will still earn a grade that goes in their transcript.

Ap exam grades (1-5) is not in the transcript.

Of course. But if the goal is to rack up as much college credit as possible or to appear as college ready as possible for more competitive schools, then the exams will be more of importance.

You do understand that the kids do not have to take the AP exam even when they take the AP course? They will still earn a grade that goes in their transcript.

Ap exam grades (1-5) is not in the transcript.