Anonymous
Post 09/05/2025 14:20     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
At Back to School last week my son’s AP Pre-calculus BC teacher let us know that they would cover the entire AP Precalculus content during the first semester. I’m sure the TJ version of AP Precal BC covers a lot more material and more in depth than most other schools.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2025 14:05     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:Given its TJ, my expectation is that the course prepares the kids for more than the AP exam.. As I read elsewhere, the kids excel on the AP, and still struggle with the class grade. Can existing parents please comment?


I have heard that students that have gotten 5s on AP exams have ended up with a C in the class. I don't think Cs are common but Bs are not uncommon.
Anonymous
Post 09/04/2025 15:58     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:Given its TJ, my expectation is that the course prepares the kids for more than the AP exam.. As I read elsewhere, the kids excel on the AP, and still struggle with the class grade. Can existing parents please comment?


This was our experience a few years back. They could get a 5 on every AP exam with their eyes closed and sleeping through half the exam.

The course work in contrast was a nightmare. My kid also took post AP multi variable calc as dual enrollment. They were struggling with the coursework but the George Mason final was so easy in comparison that they got over 100% (with the bonuses) that boosted their TJ grade back up.

I had another kid at a base school and they seldom even managed to get through the AP curriculum before the exam.
Anonymous
Post 09/04/2025 14:11     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Given its TJ, my expectation is that the course prepares the kids for more than the AP exam.. As I read elsewhere, the kids excel on the AP, and still struggle with the class grade. Can existing parents please comment?
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2025 16:47     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.

bunch of juniors start off directly in AP Physics C, but after the first week, a significant number drop back to AP Physics 1. Only about 40 to 50 students stick with it—it's a tough course for most, have to be done with calc BC at least before junior start. Still a difficult attempt, not sure how they do it.


I’m the earlier PP. DD did this in 11th - taking BC calc concurrently. It was very very hard on the physics side. Part of that is that most kids in the class had taken the earlier physics class so the teacher just skimmed over topics rather than teaching them. We got a tutor half way through and that was a life saver. She got an A but it was a killer course.

Does the course prepare the student for both the AP exams or does student have to do self study to prepare for the exams?
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2025 16:18     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.

bunch of juniors start off directly in AP Physics C, but after the first week, a significant number drop back to AP Physics 1. Only about 40 to 50 students stick with it—it's a tough course for most, have to be done with calc BC at least before junior start. Still a difficult attempt, not sure how they do it.


I’m the earlier PP. DD did this in 11th - taking BC calc concurrently. It was very very hard on the physics side. Part of that is that most kids in the class had taken the earlier physics class so the teacher just skimmed over topics rather than teaching them. We got a tutor half way through and that was a life saver. She got an A but it was a killer course.


Part of it is that from the first chapters, physics requires integration, differentiation and parametric curves that won’t be taught in Calculus BC until much later in the year. It’s not good advice to take them concurrently. It’s better if students took previous physics before, but still not optimal since they miss the calculus framework.


DD said it was not really the math she struggled with (she did some pre-prep on key calc concepts in anticipation of the concurrent issues). It was the physics concepts.
pseudonymous
Post 08/26/2025 12:03     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
I would advise the parents of 9th graders who already have their kids' schedules figured out for future years to sign up for the book club, which addresses how to prepare your kids for adulthood by letting them make choices for themselves.

This is the way I handled 10th grade course selection:
"What do you want to take and why?" "Wow, that's really well thought out. I'm proud of you."
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2025 11:21     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.

bunch of juniors start off directly in AP Physics C, but after the first week, a significant number drop back to AP Physics 1. Only about 40 to 50 students stick with it—it's a tough course for most, have to be done with calc BC at least before junior start. Still a difficult attempt, not sure how they do it.


I’m the earlier PP. DD did this in 11th - taking BC calc concurrently. It was very very hard on the physics side. Part of that is that most kids in the class had taken the earlier physics class so the teacher just skimmed over topics rather than teaching them. We got a tutor half way through and that was a life saver. She got an A but it was a killer course.


Part of it is that from the first chapters, physics requires integration, differentiation and parametric curves that won’t be taught in Calculus BC until much later in the year. It’s not good advice to take them concurrently. It’s better if students took previous physics before, but still not optimal since they miss the calculus framework.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2025 07:41     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.

bunch of juniors start off directly in AP Physics C, but after the first week, a significant number drop back to AP Physics 1. Only about 40 to 50 students stick with it—it's a tough course for most, have to be done with calc BC at least before junior start. Still a difficult attempt, not sure how they do it.


I’m the earlier PP. DD did this in 11th - taking BC calc concurrently. It was very very hard on the physics side. Part of that is that most kids in the class had taken the earlier physics class so the teacher just skimmed over topics rather than teaching them. We got a tutor half way through and that was a life saver. She got an A but it was a killer course.
Anonymous
Post 08/26/2025 07:22     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Parent of a junior here.

Building a curricular plan that aligns with your kid’s senior lab is really important at TJ. Sometimes that means “sacrificing” APs for pre-requisites. We also encourage our kid to have some recharge time over the summer—enrichment/fun in areas they enjoy so they aren’t completely burnt out when school resumes. For any new TJ parents out there it’s a myth that the kids are all doing academic work over the summer. Many do. Many don’t. There are many ways to be successful at TJ and it’s not all APs. Other types of enrichment (e.g., volunteering, jobs, travel, creative projects) are also important for college and life.

(And if all APs is your kids path, that’s great if it works for them.)


I think the best path to having more choices of a senior lab. Getting the three major AP
Science classes out of the way by 10th grade, plus potentially DNA Science 1/DNA Science 2 will give a lot of options for Junior year labs.

Finishing all three AP sciences by 10th grade isn’t realistic. Taking AP Biology in 10th is fairly common, but AP Chemistry requires completing Honors Chemistry first—if approved in 9th along with precalc or higher, or over the summer if offered—so it is not typically taken in 10th, except by a few. As for physics, students can only take AP Physics 1, or jump directly to AP Physics C, starting in 11th grade.


The 9th students who are taking AP Precalc this year are also allowed to take Honors Chemistry, so those requirements will already be out of the way.
Anonymous
Post 08/25/2025 21:10     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.

bunch of juniors start off directly in AP Physics C, but after the first week, a significant number drop back to AP Physics 1. Only about 40 to 50 students stick with it—it's a tough course for most, have to be done with calc BC at least before junior start. Still a difficult attempt, not sure how they do it.
Anonymous
Post 08/25/2025 18:32     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Definitely do AP physics 1 first. The subsequent AP physics class with no prior physics is no joke even for very strong kids.
Anonymous
Post 08/25/2025 12:53     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Parent of a junior here.

Building a curricular plan that aligns with your kid’s senior lab is really important at TJ. Sometimes that means “sacrificing” APs for pre-requisites. We also encourage our kid to have some recharge time over the summer—enrichment/fun in areas they enjoy so they aren’t completely burnt out when school resumes. For any new TJ parents out there it’s a myth that the kids are all doing academic work over the summer. Many do. Many don’t. There are many ways to be successful at TJ and it’s not all APs. Other types of enrichment (e.g., volunteering, jobs, travel, creative projects) are also important for college and life.

(And if all APs is your kids path, that’s great if it works for them.)


I think the best path to having more choices of a senior lab. Getting the three major AP
Science classes out of the way by 10th grade, plus potentially DNA Science 1/DNA Science 2 will give a lot of options for Junior year labs.

Finishing all three AP sciences by 10th grade isn’t realistic. Taking AP Biology in 10th is fairly common, but AP Chemistry requires completing Honors Chemistry first—if approved in 9th along with precalc or higher, or over the summer if offered—so it is not typically taken in 10th, except by a few. As for physics, students can only take AP Physics 1, or jump directly to AP Physics C, starting in 11th grade.
Anonymous
Post 08/25/2025 12:32     Subject: How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My child will take AP Calculus BC, AP Bio, AP Chem, and AP Physics as a 10th grader. Honors English/History and PE. (Foreign language over the summer).


Wow. When does your kid sleep?
Mine did BC calc, AP Physics (normal TJ course not the new replacement for honors), AI and APUSH last year in junior year and it about did them in.


Currently a freshman, this is for next year. The bus ride is pretty long so there is time before and after school every day. Plus there should be plenty of time on weekends and after school on nights without sports.


So your kid just started at TJ last week? Come back to us in a year and tell us whether they'll be taking three AP sciences at the same time.
Anonymous
Post 08/24/2025 21:25     Subject: Re:How many APs do TJ students take?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
pseudonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What is the new AP seminar?

Are freshman allowed to take AP classes if they want?


You can read a description of AP Seminar at the College Board's web site. At TJ, it is replacing Honors English 10. Students actually have a choice of electing to stick with English 10, though I'm not sure how many would want to do that, given that AP classes give a +1.0 boost to the weighted GPA, whereas it's +0.5 for honors.

Freshmen are allowed to take AP classes, though it would only make sense in some narrow circumstances (e.g., if the student had taken Algebra II in 8th grade, they'd be in AP Precalc).


There is only one section of English 10 honors and only one section of US VA History Honors this year. Meaning less than 30 students in each class are not taking AP Sem and APUSH.


Is that new this year? DC took World History HN 2 in 10th as did all her friends I think. And then took APUSH in 11th. She’s a senior this year though and I know Mumbai added a bunch of AP options.


Yes. The new principal said the kids were already doing the same level work as an AP class for English and Pre-cal, so the suggestion was to move students to AP pre-calc and AP Seminar (with World History to match). The humanities combo of seminar and World History was already being done at Woodson, but the AP seminar was the 'extra' nudge at TJ. The principal suggested other high schools were doing AP pre-cal and AP seminar, so the TJ kids were at a disadvantage if the AP's were offered -- even though their classes were just as rigorous.