STA parent here. Boys routinely take AP exams in classes that don’t have AP designations too and anecdotally, my kid felt adequately prepared from the non-AP-designated classes. No APs are typically taken freshmen year (although there are some exceptions when kids are particularly advanced in math or science).

My son was happy to take the tests bc he is applying to colleges where they accept AP credit. I don’t perceive he has any advantage in admissions compared to kids with no APs. And he may not take spring tests if he ends up at a school that doesn’t grant AP credits.

And, my understanding is the designation stated both bc the college board sued STA specifically as well as long t edited teachers being pretty happy with the curriculum and not wanting to change (though my guess if they would teach the same thing if the AP designation was dropped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

The college profile says GDS doesn’t rank. It doesn’t compute a GPA. Rather, GDS tells the colleges that 40% of the kids that took an AP get a 5. If APs don’t matter, why lead with that?

Precisely - college office not practicing what they preach. Parents need to send emails about this (probably after the Jan 1 due dates for RD). Inconsistent doubletalk. Take the AP scores off of the profile then!!

You really think any selective college still looks at this? They’ve been seeing a dozen GDS applicants a year for years. To assume this matter is completely speculative.

What is interesting is that the number of students taking AP exams and the overall number of exams dropped by 1/3 from the prior year. If your theory is correct we should see that number go up as students realize that the number of AP exams you take matters. It sure seems like the lesson people are learning is that it doesn’t.

Sure I follow your logic...but why would GDS post these stats on APs to colleges if they spent the last 3 years decidedly arguing to students that AP tests should not be taken. It certainly does not help clarify anything to admission officers, right? So why post it? If the intent is for the UK schools, then create a unique UK version of the profile - that is very easy to do. It's either incompetence or malice, right? Why else would they not remove the AP stats from 2023 college profile?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

The college profile says GDS doesn’t rank. It doesn’t compute a GPA. Rather, GDS tells the colleges that 40% of the kids that took an AP get a 5. If APs don’t matter, why lead with that?

Precisely - college office not practicing what they preach. Parents need to send emails about this (probably after the Jan 1 due dates for RD). Inconsistent doubletalk. Take the AP scores off of the profile then!!

You really think any selective college still looks at this? They’ve been seeing a dozen GDS applicants a year for years. To assume this matter is completely speculative.

What is interesting is that the number of students taking AP exams and the overall number of exams dropped by 1/3 from the prior year. If your theory is correct we should see that number go up as students realize that the number of AP exams you take matters. It sure seems like the lesson people are learning is that it doesn’t.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because kids volunteer to take AP exam, they’re a self-selecting group of motivated students. These kids will score higher. Then GDS can turn around and report a bunch of high scores.

Like TO for colleges apps.

Basically, either you kid (or the parent) has to be the one pushing to be competitive--the school administrators and teachers are very much into student autonomy, so it's really on the the student (or the parents) to do things like sign up for AP exams, prep for standardized testing, apply for competitive extra-curricular programs, etc. GDS's attitude unfortunately puts kids whose parents are not "in the know" at a disadvantage. I would urge the school to re-think how "equitable" their attitude of putting the kids in the driver's seat really is. Because behind the scenes, there are parents who are paying outside consultants to give specific and actionable advice starting in their sophomore year--unlike the GDS college counseling office, which seems to be prioritizing lowering the stress levels over actual truth about things like PSATs and AP exams. I was astonished to see that the GDS college counseling office didn't discuss PSATs and National Merit, for example. Instead, the GDS college counseling office emphasized that the PSAT was mostly practice for the SATs. Some kids didn't even bother to show up for the PSAT!
Also, APs can be really beneficial for students once they're in college - getting a 4 or 5 on an AP exam, for example, could get you access into special freshmen seminars, which is an amazing way to start one's college career. Not to mention that for students who aren't "full pay," the ability to shave off a semester's worth of tuition and graduate early is a very big deal - but maybe GDS's college counselors are so used to working with wealthy families that they don't even bother to mention these things?
It's just really unfortunate. The college counseling process at GDS, by withholding information under the guise of reducing anxiety over the process, is actually causing more stress when parents find out what other parents, who are more experienced, are doing for their own children. They should send an anonymous survey out to gauge parent satisfaction with the office.

Same type of messaging coming from Sidwell - especially CCO. This is particularly problematic for parents that followed the messaging without getting outside advice (whether that be their own research or a hired advisor).

Anonymous wrote:Are other schools who took the same moves as GDS (schools like Sidwell and Potomac) putting AP stats front and center in the 2022-23 college profile?

GDS doesnt do much without coordinating with or looking to Sidwell so it would be great to know if anyone has knowledge what Sidwell is doing on college profile related to AP reporting

Sidwell profile says,

STUDENT RANKING
Sidwell does not compute GPAs or assign class rankings.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
In accordance with our Quaker principles and our fundamental belief in equality, equity, and the unique and inherent value of each of our students, Sidwell Friends School does not grant academic awards or honors.

The purpose of the profile is to help colleges evaluate the candidates. Saying everyone is equal is not helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the naysayers complaining that taking away AP is a ploy these private schools use to remove accountability of rigor by teachers....I'd disagree.

Even though Sidwell doesn't do the best at being transparent about the benefits for students to take AP exams, we have found that the courses ARE at a high level. It does not appear to be difficult for a student who gets As in these courses to get 5s on the AP exams without putting in that much extra effort outside of class.

I would have said the purpose is to allow a rich/athletic/connected student to take the “highest level” course, and get a high grade (which is something the school can control), without there being anything suspicious about his failure to take the corresponding AP exam (the AP score being a thing that the school cannot control).

This is an interesting "take" but I have never gotten the sense that it's easy for rich/athletic/connected kids to get As in Sidwell's English/History courses. That said, there is variation in difficulty of grading - so maybe the kids you mention are assigned to the easier teachers? I have no idea whether that would be true or not.

Are other schools who took the same moves as GDS (schools like Sidwell and Potomac) putting AP stats front and center in the 2022-23 college profile?

GDS doesnt do much without coordinating with or looking to Sidwell so it would be great to know if anyone has knowledge what Sidwell is doing on college profile related to AP reporting

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

The college profile says GDS doesn’t rank. It doesn’t compute a GPA. Rather, GDS tells the colleges that 40% of the kids that took an AP get a 5. If APs don’t matter, why lead with that?

Precisely - college office not practicing what they preach. Parents need to send emails about this (probably after the Jan 1 due dates for RD). Inconsistent doubletalk. Take the AP scores off of the profile then!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

The college profile says GDS doesn’t rank. It doesn’t compute a GPA. Rather, GDS tells the colleges that 40% of the kids that took an AP get a 5. If APs don’t matter, why lead with that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

It is 80 kids out of 300 juniors/seniors. The majority of GDS kids are not taking AP tests.

By those numbers, most of the kids who take UL classes probably are.

Exactly this! - and when 6-12 kids are applying ED/EA each to Yale and Brown and Columbia (that's the case this year) , what factors will those schools look at outside of grades, and course difficulty if those are amongst a subset of the 6-12? the AOs clearly look at competitiveness out of a given Big3 itself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because kids volunteer to take AP exam, they’re a self-selecting group of motivated students. These kids will score higher. Then GDS can turn around and report a bunch of high scores.

Like TO for colleges apps.

Basically, either you kid (or the parent) has to be the one pushing to be competitive--the school administrators and teachers are very much into student autonomy, so it's really on the the student (or the parents) to do things like sign up for AP exams, prep for standardized testing, apply for competitive extra-curricular programs, etc. GDS's attitude unfortunately puts kids whose parents are not "in the know" at a disadvantage. I would urge the school to re-think how "equitable" their attitude of putting the kids in the driver's seat really is. Because behind the scenes, there are parents who are paying outside consultants to give specific and actionable advice starting in their sophomore year--unlike the GDS college counseling office, which seems to be prioritizing lowering the stress levels over actual truth about things like PSATs and AP exams. I was astonished to see that the GDS college counseling office didn't discuss PSATs and National Merit, for example. Instead, the GDS college counseling office emphasized that the PSAT was mostly practice for the SATs. Some kids didn't even bother to show up for the PSAT!
Also, APs can be really beneficial for students once they're in college - getting a 4 or 5 on an AP exam, for example, could get you access into special freshmen seminars, which is an amazing way to start one's college career. Not to mention that for students who aren't "full pay," the ability to shave off a semester's worth of tuition and graduate early is a very big deal - but maybe GDS's college counselors are so used to working with wealthy families that they don't even bother to mention these things?
It's just really unfortunate. The college counseling process at GDS, by withholding information under the guise of reducing anxiety over the process, is actually causing more stress when parents find out what other parents, who are more experienced, are doing for their own children. They should send an anonymous survey out to gauge parent satisfaction with the office.

Another GDS parent here - your comments **exactly** capture my issues with how GDS runs the process. Everything is "happiness and sunshine" with their office and all of 10th and 11th grade the message is "do nothing, stay relaxed" and then all of a sudden as junior year ends, it ramps to 100.

Of course, our outside counselor (yes we have one) told us to basically nod at GDS but to have a totally different and longer arcing game plan because in their experience, GDS under-emphasizes critical things 10th and 11th graders should do to DE-STRESS senior year and to give them the full and equitable access to resources at every college that APs, for example, allow.

My favorite GDS line was on the junior parent spring college zoom when the head of their office spent 5 minutes discussing how families should really discuss if "college is right for their kid" - not which college is right but whether going to college at all is right. Jesus f christ - kids go to GDS which is a COLLEGE PREP school - to go to college.

Maybe there is 1 kid every other year who doesnt go immediately to college but to frame the *primary* junior college parent zoom w/ that question made me realize what 10 parents whose kids went through GDS in the past told me "Ignore what they tell you, smile at them and run your own play with your outside counselor" - and also "ignore what they recommend for schools list; do your own research" - i sat on that call and realized that this happy talk that GDS pushes is entirely impractical and is designed to make themselves in the College office feel better.

There's a whole 'nother thread that can be started around how college offices of elite schools have different incentive structures than the kids. Lots of chatter at GDS in my friend circle of parents around this topic but also at other schools too.

School CC's are focused on their own version of "yield maximization" - which is how many (raw count) schools did the kids you cover get into.

So the incentive in these hard admission times is to aim lower, more sure things (GDS famous statement in recent years "you must have 3 safety (foundation) on your max list of 10" - why 3 60-70% admit schools? really? the kids should be focused on using EA/ED to REACH not to "settle" - I've heard about lots of coaching to "settle" at middle tier schools with EA/ED. Not entirely caused by GDS or its ilk - the ED system perpetuates....but reality is private school CC's have a vastly different incentive than the kid - certainly on the margins and maybe fully.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

It is 80 kids out of 300 juniors/seniors. The majority of GDS kids are not taking AP tests.

By those numbers, most of the kids who take UL classes probably are.

perhaps but not in any appreciable number.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

The issue is within the school; GDS students are not being compared to public school students at this level. But does a student who listens to the school and doesn't sign up for any AP exams--despite taking the "most challenging" classes--look like a slacker compared to those who do? I don't think anyone knows.

because someone sitting next to you in class takes two more 3 hour exams than you over the course of your 4 years in high school, you look like a slacker?

I agree no one knows - but that lack of knowledge goes both ways.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

Is that really the case? 80 kids sitting for 113 AP exams is not even two exams per student. So if you extrapolate that, each student is taking, maybe 4-6 AP exams total. Compare that to the 10-15 AP exams that public school kids take. It doesn't appear that GDS students are being hampered in college admissions, so it seems the upshot is that competitive colleges don't care whether you take the AP exams - at least if you're at GDS.

It is 80 kids out of 300 juniors/seniors. The majority of GDS kids are not taking AP tests.

By those numbers, most of the kids who take UL classes probably are.

how do you figure this? Those 113 tests (taken by 25% of the student body) could be in anything.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to the GDS poster . .you seem to have a complex. Perhaps your child is a great test taker and got 5s, but but many of my daughter's classmates from GDS completely bombed the AP exams and will not be taking any others.That may be part of why so many people are leaving the school.

GDS messaging about APs has been atrocious for years. Only this year did they even put out a FAQ as to who should consider signing up to take the tests and why. In classic GDS fashion, they think they are avoiding hurting people's feelings by being oblique about the AP test.

Meanwhile, I heard from some parents after all these years of de-emphasizing the AP test that the profile thing that GDS sends to all universities again for 2022-2023 application cycle puts front and center - as in top of the main page - how many kids at GDS took AP tests and that 90% or something scored 4 or more.

Long time parent and GDS inability to be direct with kids and parents on who should and shouldn't do things because they want to protect people from having their feelings hurt is maddening - or maybe they dont believe in testing. Much better to be upfront.

It took them 3 years to put out a FAQ around who should even take the tests instead of saying blanket "you dont need to take the tests". Meanwhile the UL teachers in some classes do side tutoring (for free) of their classes for 6 weeks prior to AP tests.

Top of page two on the 21-22 “ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS:
In May 2021, 114 GDS high school students sat for 174 Advanced Placement examinations; 41% earned scores of 5, 73% earned scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.”
https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1636400955/gdsorg/ciq4lvx8wbgfzccyswox/2021-22GDSHSProfile.pdf

Exactly - what's inexcusable is that the 2022-23 college profile also highlights APs despite 3 years of telling the kids that they should not take them. Why?

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS
In May 2022, 80 GDS high school students sat for 113 Advanced
Placement examinations; 38% earned scores of 5, 80% earned
scores of 4 or above, and 91% earned scores of 3 or above.

It does seem unfair to de-emphasize the test but then publish results to the colleges. The messaging here is wrong. The schools should be saying to the kids, we don’t call it an AP class but you should be taking the AP exams if you are striving to get into the most competitive colleges. It has nothing to do with getting college credit.

These are not public schools. Being called AP or not will not change anything at a place like STA. Colleges look at rigor. SFS has the math 1 -4 classes which is way harder than the AP classes. And colleges know that.