Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP classes are the equivalent of an online course from University of Phoenix.

The anti-AP crowd is the weirdest group of people I’ve seen on DCUM since the virulent anti-redshirters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our private offers AP and I am of mixed opinion about them. Prior to taking an AP history course she took a regular course at the same school and honestly found the non AP course more challenging and intellectually stimulating than the AP course which really focused on maximizing the AP score. A lot more factual content was covered in AP, but the essays were more challenging in the regular class because writing style and good research was emphasized more in the non-AP class.

But on the other hand I”m still glad our school offers them because they are rigorous enough as college preparatory classes and we don’t have to worry that college admissions will wonder at the lack of APs. DC may be applying to UK schools and 5s on certain AP scores are required. So it”s nice to have the curriculum covered in class so that DC doesn’t have to spend time outside of class self studying for them and can have more time for extracurriculars/free time.

Exactly. Research and writing are the backbone of college-level history. The AP classes will give students a good factual base and minimal analytical skills, but nothing like a good college course with a strong lecturer. The only whole book AP kids will read is the AP textbook.

College history is, of course, absolutely nothing like that.

Our kid's AP history courses required a lot of research and writing, so I guess it depends on how the teacher approaches the subject. I actually felt they under-emphasized maximizing the test results and would have appreciated a bit more focus on that.

Also, of course AP isn't the same a college history class. It isn't meant to be. It's meant to get you out of the intro survey courses with 500 freshman.

Did they research beyond a few primary documents and the AP textbook? Did they read any full histories from well-known historians and write about the differences in historical interpretation between them? Did they study validity of historical evidence? Did they write beyond short answers and DBQs? Great for them if the course offered any of that.

I'm glad they enjoyed the AP history classes, but what they are now (most of the time in most schools) is nothing like the intro history courses I took at an Ivy long ago.

The intro history courses at Ivies are nothing like the intro history courses you took long ago either.

Anonymous wrote:AP classes are the equivalent of an online course from University of Phoenix.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our private offers AP and I am of mixed opinion about them. Prior to taking an AP history course she took a regular course at the same school and honestly found the non AP course more challenging and intellectually stimulating than the AP course which really focused on maximizing the AP score. A lot more factual content was covered in AP, but the essays were more challenging in the regular class because writing style and good research was emphasized more in the non-AP class.

But on the other hand I”m still glad our school offers them because they are rigorous enough as college preparatory classes and we don’t have to worry that college admissions will wonder at the lack of APs. DC may be applying to UK schools and 5s on certain AP scores are required. So it”s nice to have the curriculum covered in class so that DC doesn’t have to spend time outside of class self studying for them and can have more time for extracurriculars/free time.

Exactly. Research and writing are the backbone of college-level history. The AP classes will give students a good factual base and minimal analytical skills, but nothing like a good college course with a strong lecturer. The only whole book AP kids will read is the AP textbook.

College history is, of course, absolutely nothing like that.

Our kid's AP history courses required a lot of research and writing, so I guess it depends on how the teacher approaches the subject. I actually felt they under-emphasized maximizing the test results and would have appreciated a bit more focus on that.

Also, of course AP isn't the same a college history class. It isn't meant to be. It's meant to get you out of the intro survey courses with 500 freshman.

Did they research beyond a few primary documents and the AP textbook? Did they read any full histories from well-known historians and write about the differences in historical interpretation between them? Did they study validity of historical evidence? Did they write beyond short answers and DBQs? Great for them if the course offered any of that.

I'm glad they enjoyed the AP history classes, but what they are now (most of the time in most schools) is nothing like the intro history courses I took at an Ivy long ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our private offers AP and I am of mixed opinion about them. Prior to taking an AP history course she took a regular course at the same school and honestly found the non AP course more challenging and intellectually stimulating than the AP course which really focused on maximizing the AP score. A lot more factual content was covered in AP, but the essays were more challenging in the regular class because writing style and good research was emphasized more in the non-AP class.

But on the other hand I”m still glad our school offers them because they are rigorous enough as college preparatory classes and we don’t have to worry that college admissions will wonder at the lack of APs. DC may be applying to UK schools and 5s on certain AP scores are required. So it”s nice to have the curriculum covered in class so that DC doesn’t have to spend time outside of class self studying for them and can have more time for extracurriculars/free time.

Exactly. Research and writing are the backbone of college-level history. The AP classes will give students a good factual base and minimal analytical skills, but nothing like a good college course with a strong lecturer. The only whole book AP kids will read is the AP textbook.

College history is, of course, absolutely nothing like that.

Our kid's AP history courses required a lot of research and writing, so I guess it depends on how the teacher approaches the subject. I actually felt they under-emphasized maximizing the test results and would have appreciated a bit more focus on that.

Also, of course AP isn't the same a college history class. It isn't meant to be. It's meant to get you out of the intro survey courses with 500 freshman.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our private offers AP and I am of mixed opinion about them. Prior to taking an AP history course she took a regular course at the same school and honestly found the non AP course more challenging and intellectually stimulating than the AP course which really focused on maximizing the AP score. A lot more factual content was covered in AP, but the essays were more challenging in the regular class because writing style and good research was emphasized more in the non-AP class.

But on the other hand I”m still glad our school offers them because they are rigorous enough as college preparatory classes and we don’t have to worry that college admissions will wonder at the lack of APs. DC may be applying to UK schools and 5s on certain AP scores are required. So it”s nice to have the curriculum covered in class so that DC doesn’t have to spend time outside of class self studying for them and can have more time for extracurriculars/free time.

Exactly. Research and writing are the backbone of college-level history. The AP classes will give students a good factual base and minimal analytical skills, but nothing like a good college course with a strong lecturer. The only whole book AP kids will read is the AP textbook.

College history is, of course, absolutely nothing like that.

Anonymous wrote:Our private offers AP and I am of mixed opinion about them. Prior to taking an AP history course she took a regular course at the same school and honestly found the non AP course more challenging and intellectually stimulating than the AP course which really focused on maximizing the AP score. A lot more factual content was covered in AP, but the essays were more challenging in the regular class because writing style and good research was emphasized more in the non-AP class.

But on the other hand I”m still glad our school offers them because they are rigorous enough as college preparatory classes and we don’t have to worry that college admissions will wonder at the lack of APs. DC may be applying to UK schools and 5s on certain AP scores are required. So it”s nice to have the curriculum covered in class so that DC doesn’t have to spend time outside of class self studying for them and can have more time for extracurriculars/free time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is funny. My kids went to public high school, one kid took 9, the other took 10. Both now at Ivies.

No class credit, but they got to skip a lot of first-year classes.

I think the most important part is that they seemed to like the AP classes in high school. And they did well on the AP tests.

I should add that I just asked my kids about this, and they said that nearly all their friends in college took a lot of APs. So it's interesting to see a lot of parents here getting all bent out of shape about it when they don't seem to really know that much about it. For the poster going on and on about AP's decline in the past 20 years, my kids would just laugh at you.

And my kids are the future. You are the past.

The whole point of the AP program was originally to get class credit, and you yourself admit that your kids did not get any. This already sounds like a failure.


Also, virtually every kid at a decent college these days has taken a lot of AP classes because AP has taken over public high school course offerings. A random company has maneuvered control over national public high school education, and is profiting off of it.

You seem to have given this no thought yourself.

I couldn't care less if they got class credit. And to be frank, my unconnected kids got into amazing colleges, not "decent" ones. But most importantly, they loved their AP classes, they thrived in them, they thought the tests were fair, and they have proven that they are well prepared for higher ed and competing with extremely bright kids. All this talk of eliminating AP tests is private schools trying to justify their existence in a world that cares less and less about them - and in fact, most universities hate them (unless individual families have university connections or are famous/influential or are big donors).

I have several friends whose schools stopped offering AP classes, but then the parents hired tutors and still had the kids take the AP tests.

Insanity. At any rate, we're happy with APs. They have served my kids well. They're certainly not sitting on DCUM second-guessing the history of APs and why schools like Landon (for mediocre kids) aren't offering them anymore.

The standard public high school curriculum, which is AP based, is not the reason your kids were moderately successful.

Furthermore, your bias against private schools is on full display here.

DP. The bolded is all anyone needs to know about this whole debate. Nothing to do with the actual content of AP, everything to do with trying to differentiate from the commoners.

You have issues.

And you clearly haven’t read this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is funny. My kids went to public high school, one kid took 9, the other took 10. Both now at Ivies.

No class credit, but they got to skip a lot of first-year classes.

I think the most important part is that they seemed to like the AP classes in high school. And they did well on the AP tests.

I should add that I just asked my kids about this, and they said that nearly all their friends in college took a lot of APs. So it's interesting to see a lot of parents here getting all bent out of shape about it when they don't seem to really know that much about it. For the poster going on and on about AP's decline in the past 20 years, my kids would just laugh at you.

And my kids are the future. You are the past.

The whole point of the AP program was originally to get class credit, and you yourself admit that your kids did not get any. This already sounds like a failure.


Also, virtually every kid at a decent college these days has taken a lot of AP classes because AP has taken over public high school course offerings. A random company has maneuvered control over national public high school education, and is profiting off of it.

You seem to have given this no thought yourself.

I couldn't care less if they got class credit. And to be frank, my unconnected kids got into amazing colleges, not "decent" ones. But most importantly, they loved their AP classes, they thrived in them, they thought the tests were fair, and they have proven that they are well prepared for higher ed and competing with extremely bright kids. All this talk of eliminating AP tests is private schools trying to justify their existence in a world that cares less and less about them - and in fact, most universities hate them (unless individual families have university connections or are famous/influential or are big donors).

I have several friends whose schools stopped offering AP classes, but then the parents hired tutors and still had the kids take the AP tests.

Insanity. At any rate, we're happy with APs. They have served my kids well. They're certainly not sitting on DCUM second-guessing the history of APs and why schools like Landon (for mediocre kids) aren't offering them anymore.

The standard public high school curriculum, which is AP based, is not the reason your kids were moderately successful.

Furthermore, your bias against private schools is on full display here.

DP. The bolded is all anyone needs to know about this whole debate. Nothing to do with the actual content of AP, everything to do with trying to differentiate from the commoners.

You have issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is funny. My kids went to public high school, one kid took 9, the other took 10. Both now at Ivies.

No class credit, but they got to skip a lot of first-year classes.

I think the most important part is that they seemed to like the AP classes in high school. And they did well on the AP tests.

I should add that I just asked my kids about this, and they said that nearly all their friends in college took a lot of APs. So it's interesting to see a lot of parents here getting all bent out of shape about it when they don't seem to really know that much about it. For the poster going on and on about AP's decline in the past 20 years, my kids would just laugh at you.

And my kids are the future. You are the past.

The whole point of the AP program was originally to get class credit, and you yourself admit that your kids did not get any. This already sounds like a failure.


Also, virtually every kid at a decent college these days has taken a lot of AP classes because AP has taken over public high school course offerings. A random company has maneuvered control over national public high school education, and is profiting off of it.

You seem to have given this no thought yourself.

I couldn't care less if they got class credit. And to be frank, my unconnected kids got into amazing colleges, not "decent" ones. But most importantly, they loved their AP classes, they thrived in them, they thought the tests were fair, and they have proven that they are well prepared for higher ed and competing with extremely bright kids. All this talk of eliminating AP tests is private schools trying to justify their existence in a world that cares less and less about them - [b]and in fact, most universities hate them (unless individual families have university connections or are famous/influential or are big donors).

I have several friends whose schools stopped offering AP classes, but then the parents hired tutors and still had the kids take the AP tests.

Insanity. At any rate, we're happy with APs. They have served my kids well. They're certainly not sitting on DCUM second-guessing the history of APs and why schools like Landon (for mediocre kids) aren't offering them anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is funny. My kids went to public high school, one kid took 9, the other took 10. Both now at Ivies.

No class credit, but they got to skip a lot of first-year classes.

I think the most important part is that they seemed to like the AP classes in high school. And they did well on the AP tests.

I should add that I just asked my kids about this, and they said that nearly all their friends in college took a lot of APs. So it's interesting to see a lot of parents here getting all bent out of shape about it when they don't seem to really know that much about it. For the poster going on and on about AP's decline in the past 20 years, my kids would just laugh at you.

And my kids are the future. You are the past.

The whole point of the AP program was originally to get class credit, and you yourself admit that your kids did not get any. This already sounds like a failure.


Also, virtually every kid at a decent college these days has taken a lot of AP classes because AP has taken over public high school course offerings. A random company has maneuvered control over national public high school education, and is profiting off of it.

You seem to have given this no thought yourself.

I couldn't care less if they got class credit. And to be frank, my unconnected kids got into amazing colleges, not "decent" ones. But most importantly, they loved their AP classes, they thrived in them, they thought the tests were fair, and they have proven that they are well prepared for higher ed and competing with extremely bright kids. All this talk of eliminating AP tests is private schools trying to justify their existence in a world that cares less and less about them - and in fact, most universities hate them (unless individual families have university connections or are famous/influential or are big donors).

I have several friends whose schools stopped offering AP classes, but then the parents hired tutors and still had the kids take the AP tests.

Insanity. At any rate, we're happy with APs. They have served my kids well. They're certainly not sitting on DCUM second-guessing the history of APs and why schools like Landon (for mediocre kids) aren't offering them anymore.

The standard public high school curriculum, which is AP based, is not the reason your kids were moderately successful.

Furthermore, your bias against private schools is on full display here.

DP. The bolded is all anyone needs to know about this whole debate. Nothing to do with the actual content of AP, everything to do with trying to differentiate from the commoners.