Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same - Lang and AP Physics C with 16 mins between to use bathroom and “eat” lunch. Oh and bathroom only had two stalls working so just time to go to the bathroom.

Child said FRQ sucked for physics c.

Yes! My kid was devastated. Everyone he talked to thought the same thing, even the star student in his class, who usually gets everything right without turning a hair. I hope the unusual level of difficulty will be taken into account. My kid practiced with a lot of previous exam questions, and I trust him when he says the questions were not of typical difficulty.

Anonymous wrote:Same - Lang and AP Physics C with 16 mins between to use bathroom and “eat” lunch. Oh and bathroom only had two stalls working so just time to go to the bathroom.

Child said FRQ sucked for physics c.

Anonymous wrote:mine has AP lang this morning then AP Physics C M only 20 mins in between!

Anonymous wrote:mine has AP lang this morning then AP Physics C M only 20 mins in between!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids have had individual teachers extend deadlines for the entire class when students requested it based on AP tests. Both times it was a situation where the teacher gave kids until the following Monday to turn in the assignment, which was nice.

Just to add to the stress of taking multiple AP exams and missing a lot of other classes in the process, my kid’s teachers just records everything they miss as a zero. So now not only does the student have to make up work and turn it in, but then they have to keep reminding the teachers they turned it in and to update their grade. For some reason teachers never do and it takes multiple emails to get this handled. So stupid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just wanted to say thank you to all the posters who have shared their experiences so far. And I still hope to learn about more experiences and tips. This was indeed our first go-around with multiple AP exams and quite a learning experience.

I agree that overall scheduling for these AP testing weeks seems disorganized and handled poorly by both the College Board and the schools. What I'm hearing is that there's a lot of stress and different demands on AP test takers and for the most parts kids are handling it. BUT when circumstances line up to create a real potential problem for the student (and it can be as simple as a long test in the am like we faced but could also be outside demands) then it's up to the family to flag an issue and address it -- preferably in advance.

This was the important learning for me: schools (and College Board!) know that kids are facing intense days where they may forego food or breaks BUT there doesn't seem to be a supports in place to help kids identify or address issues. ** Students and parents have to proactively manage their schedule and/or seek a formal accommodation. It's disappointing but important to know that despite the appearance of an organized schedule there's nothing in place that considers the student's experience! **

Finally, a note of thanks to the poster who included a link to the article on 'snowplow parenting' which warned of the downside of trying to remove all obstacles for a kid. That's an exhausting approach to parenting and I hope I don't fit the definition of a snowplow parent but when the testing process seems to violate adult labor laws due to lack of a lunch break, then I think it does warrant some additional parental involvement.

You're not a snowplow parent at all. If this had happened to my kid, I would be livid! I agree with you that it's not fair, because the stakes for college admissions are high for the kids who take lots of APs. They're not the cohort that couldn't care less and just expect to get into a middling place.

Anonymous wrote:My kids have had individual teachers extend deadlines for the entire class when students requested it based on AP tests. Both times it was a situation where the teacher gave kids until the following Monday to turn in the assignment, which was nice.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just wanted to say thank you to all the posters who have shared their experiences so far. And I still hope to learn about more experiences and tips. This was indeed our first go-around with multiple AP exams and quite a learning experience.

I agree that overall scheduling for these AP testing weeks seems disorganized and handled poorly by both the College Board and the schools. What I'm hearing is that there's a lot of stress and different demands on AP test takers and for the most parts kids are handling it. BUT when circumstances line up to create a real potential problem for the student (and it can be as simple as a long test in the am like we faced but could also be outside demands) then it's up to the family to flag an issue and address it -- preferably in advance.

This was the important learning for me: schools (and College Board!) know that kids are facing intense days where they may forego food or breaks BUT there doesn't seem to be a supports in place to help kids identify or address issues. ** Students and parents have to proactively manage their schedule and/or seek a formal accommodation. It's disappointing but important to know that despite the appearance of an organized schedule there's nothing in place that considers the student's experience! **

Finally, a note of thanks to the poster who included a link to the article on 'snowplow parenting' which warned of the downside of trying to remove all obstacles for a kid. That's an exhausting approach to parenting and I hope I don't fit the definition of a snowplow parent but when the testing process seems to violate adult labor laws due to lack of a lunch break, then I think it does warrant some additional parental involvement.

Anonymous wrote:Wish I had seen this earlier. My kid has Spanish lit and English lang tomorrow, she definitely would have loved some advocacy to put one off until the makeup day.

I also wish the school would cool it on papers and projects during the AP week. One thing an experienced teacher did, bio, was finish up a week early and then schedule a high value summative that was all AP style multiple choice. It was insanely painful for DD to be doing her bio prep while other classes were in full swing, but it was a life saver when she started working in the final review for ApUSh and Spanish.

I also am really annoyed at her music ensemble. Luckily my kid is a planner, so she looked at the schedule and noticed, a month ago, a extra music festival, rehearsal, and performance last weekend, as well as the final rehearsal, dress, and concert this week. Yes, that's 3-4 hours of music Saturday - Wednesday. She said she was not able to do the extra festival, which may impact her chair next year, but it's just too much. A lot of kids did it, then had last minute "emergencies"'requiring them to miss yesterday's rehearsal and/or tomorrow's dress. I know this because we got an angry letter from the director saying that so many people were requesting off that no one would be excused who didn't give 2 weeks notice. In 3 years, we've never gotten a parent letter like this, so I'm guessing the callouts were pretty extreme. My kid loves her ensemble, but I'm proud that she planned ahead and was willing to set a clear boundary!

Anonymous wrote:
This is your first go-around, I take it?

1. Same-day exams are a problem, precisely due to delays during the morning exam, which lead to a very short or a non-existent break before the afternoon one. Yes, I believe it DOES affect exam performance, and there should be a declared minimum length of break between two back-to-back exams!!! As it stands right now, it's a little fuzzy and discretion is given to the onsite testing coordinator. Usually, since they want the least hassle possible, they tend to try to shuffle off everyone into their afternoon exams, and a student would need to be very persuasive to get a testing coordinator to approve a make-up date in the situation you describe. Which I don't think is fair, at all! I entirely sympathize with your daughter, OP. For illness, I believe you need a doctor's note to schedule the make-up, so if you know a doctor who can write one, maybe your kid, if her first exam runs so late, can just walk out of school, and you request the make-up for the second exam with the doctor's note.

2. Life goes on separately from College Board exams, unfortunately. My kids' high schools were/are each quite understanding about late work and requesting test make-ups for AP exam absences. Indeed, MCPS gives excused absences on AP exam days, so that kids don't get zeros when they miss instruction on those days. It is understood that students need to keep studying for their other classes, hand in their assignments and take their tests at some point.

3. We declared a moratorium on extra-curricular activities last weekend and this week. My DD has missed a number of horseback riding classes. If she gets marked down in her semester assessment, we don't care. She has missed a number of her private instrumental lessons, and her teacher is very understanding. She's part of a selective youth orchestra that limits the number of absences to 2 per concert cycle, so we declared her "sick" for the last rehearsal. I'm sure lots of other high schoolers were somehow "sick" that day The concert is next weekend, so the conductor isn't happy, but AP exams are more important! In the house, DD is exempt from chores, laundry, pet care, etc. We make all her meals and baby her so she can focus on her exams, like we did for our son.

I hope your kid did well despite adverse circumstances, OP.