Anonymous wrote:This says it all! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

One AP government teacher, Michael Grill of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., said, “When administrators can trade on the cachet of their school’s reputation to help get their students into college, it’s really not that bold nor courageous to abandon a metric that can contribute to leveling the playing field.”

Well yes. Because the schools have a reputation for challenging coursework and accomplished students, they don't need someone else's stamp to say they have challenging coursework and accomplished students. If the schools fail to produce accomplished students, by means of challenging coursework, they will no longer be able to trade on their reputation.

This isn't just true for private schools. I don't think anyone would argue that TJ, for example, doesn't also have the ability to trade on their schools reputation, outside of any external authority branding their students as accomplished and their coursework as challenging.

Michael Grill gets an A+ for stating the obvious. If you consistently produce an excellent product, you will have a reputation for consistently producing an excellent product.

Anonymous wrote:No, he just probably teaches many very bright kids who weren’t born with the proverbial silver spoon.

Care to address the merit of his argument?

His argument is that private schools are taking advantage of their resources and reputation to provide their students with opportunities that differentiate them from public school students. He’s right. That’s why people pay for private schools.

No, he just probably teaches many very bright kids who weren’t born with the proverbial silver spoon.

Care to address the merit of his argument?

Anonymous wrote:This says it all! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

One AP government teacher, Michael Grill of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., said, “When administrators can trade on the cachet of their school’s reputation to help get their students into college, it’s really not that bold nor courageous to abandon a metric that can contribute to leveling the playing field.”

Michael Grill must be one of those teachers who prefers teaching to standardized tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a public school parent, and I think that AP is a scam. It turbo-chargers the negatives of testing culture. I hope more schools opt for deep and enriching courses designed by teachers rather than glorified Cliffs Notes.

This kind of comment really irritates me. Look at any successful AP classroom (scoring above the national average) and you will find a rich syllabus and a test that most of the parents could not pass. What is your expertise? Which AP exams have you reviewed?

I’ve taken AP classes (and scored 5s) and I’ve gone to college. I speak from personal experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have to admit i do not get the backlash against AP classes. If I was in charge of college admissions and I had two kids, one of whom went to Sidwell Friends and took no APs, and one who went to a public high school and took a slew of AP classes (and did well on the AP tests), I'd be inclined to take the public-school kid.

Clueless

Did you also know that MCPS gives an entire 1.0 higher for both honors and AP courses. And MCPS "honors" courses are basically "not remedial" courses.
Did you know that a 79.5 and a 89.5 equal an A for a semester every time at MCPS
So a kid taking honors English will get a 5.0 for those two grades above?

Sweet! Sign me up!

Anonymous wrote:I’m a public school parent, and I think that AP is a scam. It turbo-chargers the negatives of testing culture. I hope more schools opt for deep and enriching courses designed by teachers rather than glorified Cliffs Notes.

This kind of comment really irritates me. Look at any successful AP classroom (scoring above the national average) and you will find a rich syllabus and a test that most of the parents could not pass. What is your expertise? Which AP exams have you reviewed?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why are public school parents so freaked out by the decision by a handful of private schools to walk way from the APs? What scares them so much.

i think they are more bemused by private schools styling themselves as beyond the APs.

I'm not sure they are bemused. It seems to go beyond that based on this thread. They seem pretty worked up to me.

Well, you it would be hard to poll private school parents at the schools dropping APs, but it seems to me, mostly at our school folks are supportive. I have not run into anyone who feels strongly against the change. Lots of people think it was long overdue.

Parent at Big 3. I am against the change. I think it is a private school pretension and a marketing ploy. I am very familiar with AP course requirements and virtually all subjects allow the teacher to design the course in a major way. Creativity and deep learning is allowed; the only thing the teachers may not like is time pressure.

This says it all! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

One AP government teacher, Michael Grill of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., said, “When administrators can trade on the cachet of their school’s reputation to help get their students into college, it’s really not that bold nor courageous to abandon a metric that can contribute to leveling the playing field.”

Anonymous wrote:I'd be happy if college was eliminated by 2022

Why?

I'd be happy if college was eliminated by 2022

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why are public school parents so freaked out by the decision by a handful of private schools to walk way from the APs? What scares them so much.

i think they are more bemused by private schools styling themselves as beyond the APs.

I'm not sure they are bemused. It seems to go beyond that based on this thread. They seem pretty worked up to me.

I think a lot of public school parents who frequent the private school board have a measure of insecurity about whether they are providing their child the best possible education. When private and public schools alike are offering the same curriculum to their “best” students, that insecurity is alleviated. When private schools are now planning to offer something that could be perceived as better than public schools’ best, that insecurity is exacerbated.

I don’t have a dog in the fight, other than my disdain for the College Board, and anything that exposes their scams - high schools dropping AP, colleges going test optional or at least dropping the SAT essay requirement - makes me happy

I’m a public school parent, and I think that AP is a scam. It turbo-chargers the negatives of testing culture. I hope more schools opt for deep and enriching courses designed by teachers rather than glorified Cliffs Notes.

Anonymous wrote:why are public school parents so freaked out by the decision by a handful of private schools to walk way from the APs? What scares them so much.

Because they haven’t figured out it is a money making scheme yet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why are public school parents so freaked out by the decision by a handful of private schools to walk way from the APs? What scares them so much.

i think they are more bemused by private schools styling themselves as beyond the APs.

I'm not sure they are bemused. It seems to go beyond that based on this thread. They seem pretty worked up to me.

Well, you it would be hard to poll private school parents at the schools dropping APs, but it seems to me, mostly at our school folks are supportive. I have not run into anyone who feels strongly against the change. Lots of people think it was long overdue.