Anonymous wrote:My son at Einstein took AP US as a freshman. He got a 2 on the AP but that was during COVID and it was a weird online home test shortened to forty five minutes. He took AP govt the next year and got a 5

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son at Einstein took AP US as a freshman. He got a 2 on the AP but that was during COVID and it was a weird online home test shortened to forty five minutes. He took AP govt the next year and got a 5

Can he retake the AP exam? Wondering how this works as I have a child headed to Einstein.

I don’t know, actually. Didn’t think about that.

My main advice to Einstein parents is, unless your kid really wants to take IB, go with APs. If you want to hear my reasoning let me know and I will elaborate.

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

This weighting is not unique to MCPS.

It absolutely is

Nationally and all privates:

Honors is a 0.5 bump
AP is a full 1.0 bump

Between that and MCPS 89.5 and a 79.5 = an A - there is no other county in the country with inflated grades like MCPS. Not to mention the 50% and constant retakes teachers allow.

What are you saying there?

I had the same reaction.
Where is a 79.5 and A minus? MCPS doesn't even use plus/minus, so a 79.5 is a B. I don't agree with this policy, but it's not as bad as was portrayed.

Anonymous wrote:Holy shit this madness needs to stop. These are FRESHMEN.

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Anonymous wrote:Just curious. My kid's schedule says honors US History. So am I to assume that his school does 9th grade AP US or Honors US? And that Gov is next year?

Not necessarily. The options for 9th grade could be Honors US or AP Gov.

Huh? So then the option for 10th grade is APUSH and Honors Gov? Is that a class. That doesn't make sense

At our school, 9th graders take Honors US or AP Gov. Those who took Honors US take either Honors Gov[NSL] or AP Gov in 10th, and those who took AP Gov take Honors US or APUSH.

Ok, thank you. I have a feeling that is how our school works too. So the reason to take AP Gov in 9th is mainly to have the option to take APUSH in 10th grade. You don't really have the option otherwise. So unless your 10th grade schedule will be drastically harder and you just want to get the AP out of the way freshman year.

But my daughter doesn't need both, has a lot of extra curricular, and I think would be stressed this year taking AP Gov. I just don't see the need.

My rising freshman is taking apush, an ap comp sci and the rest honors. I don't know if this is a great idea or not but it is certainly an option

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

That's false information right there. Over 70% of MCPS kids got a score of 3 or higher in AP tests.

The overall rate for the school districts masks a lot.

At Kennedy, only 34 percent of students scored a 3 or higher on AP exams.

At Watkins Mill, only 32 percent of students scored a 3 or higher on AP exams.

At Seneca Valley, only 40 percent of students scored a 3 or higher on AP exams.

At Springbrook, only 36.5 percent of students scored a 3 or higher on AP exams.

The overall rate for the district is distorted by the W schools that have 80 percent or more of their kids scoring a 3 or higher, but that rate is in no way shape or form evenly dispersed throughout the county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious. My kid's schedule says honors US History. So am I to assume that his school does 9th grade AP US or Honors US? And that Gov is next year?

Not necessarily. The options for 9th grade could be Honors US or AP Gov.

Huh? So then the option for 10th grade is APUSH and Honors Gov? Is that a class. That doesn't make sense

At our school, 9th graders take Honors US or AP Gov. Those who took Honors US take either Honors Gov[NSL] or AP Gov in 10th, and those who took AP Gov take Honors US or APUSH.

Ok, thank you. I have a feeling that is how our school works too. So the reason to take AP Gov in 9th is mainly to have the option to take APUSH in 10th grade. You don't really have the option otherwise. So unless your 10th grade schedule will be drastically harder and you just want to get the AP out of the way freshman year.

But my daughter doesn't need both, has a lot of extra curricular, and I think would be stressed this year taking AP Gov. I just don't see the need.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

That's false information right there. Over 70% of MCPS kids got a score of 3 or higher in AP tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

This weighting is not unique to MCPS.

It absolutely is

Nationally and all privates:

Honors is a 0.5 bump
AP is a full 1.0 bump

Between that and MCPS 89.5 and a 79.5 = an A - there is no other county in the country with inflated grades like MCPS. Not to mention the 50% and constant retakes teachers allow.

What are you saying there?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

This weighting is not unique to MCPS.

It absolutely is

Nationally and all privates:

Honors is a 0.5 bump
AP is a full 1.0 bump

Between that and MCPS 89.5 and a 79.5 = an A - there is no other county in the country with inflated grades like MCPS. Not to mention the 50% and constant retakes teachers allow.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

Anonymous wrote:Many freshman at WJ take AP Gov.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our school, Kennedy, they push the "gifted" kids to take AP Gov in 9th grade and AP US History in 10th grade.

In my opinion, having just done through this with my son, I don't think kids should be taking AP courses in 9th grade, with probably a few exceptions here and there.

Most kids aren't ready for that kind of rigor or discipline and unfortunately, the lax attitudes of the pandemic from their middle school transition years really didn't prepare them for the reality check that comes with an AP course with regard to study habits and test taking intensity.

That being said, MCPS seems intent on cramming more and more kids on the advanced tracks sooner rather than later, even if the kids flounder and aren't ready. I assume this is because they think it makes them look good, but also because they have such liberal retake/reassessment policies that even if kids do struggle, they have multiple chances for do-overs, so in the end, they can still end up with a B or an A.

However, the truth lies in the AP exam scores, and if you look at the MCPS students taking these AP courses and the exam, a lot of kids are flopping with 1's or 2's on the exams, even though they've got a good classroom grade.

This right here. When your kid is getting an A in an AP course in MCPS and getting a 3 or lower on the test that gives them credit, well it looks pretty bad on the school and the student.

Some top colleges are only accepting 5's on exams now and most that kids that want to push themselves into only take 4's on the exams.

AP classes and honors classes count the same on a weighted scale. They shouldn't, but MCPS does anything for inflated grades.

No reason to take AP Gov and APUSH unless your child is intelligent enough to guarantee 4 and 5's on test.

This weighting is not unique to MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son at Einstein took AP US as a freshman. He got a 2 on the AP but that was during COVID and it was a weird online home test shortened to forty five minutes. He took AP govt the next year and got a 5

Can he retake the AP exam? Wondering how this works as I have a child headed to Einstein.

I don’t know, actually. Didn’t think about that.

My main advice to Einstein parents is, unless your kid really wants to take IB, go with APs. If you want to hear my reasoning let me know and I will elaborate.