For schools that offer AP Gov for freshmen, does your school also do government for the other freshmen? Or if the other freshmen are taking US History and a kid takes AP Gov, how does it work if they decide they don't want to take APUSH later on after all? Do they go back and take regular Honors US History with freshmen? Or do they have to commit to APUSH if they take AP Gov?

One need understand the reasoning. Taking AP Gov first means less content and an essentially a slower pacing of the content. This allows students the opportunity to adjust to HS and the increased rigor before jumping into a college level course.

The thinking with APUSH freshman year is that kids just had US history so in theory they should have some basis for extended learning of the content. Also when they take APGOV in theory they should better understand why the government is being enacted and why laws are being enacted because they’ve already studied the history. The catch is APUSH is a more content heavy and writing intense class. And most students are not prepared for its rigor or pacing in 9th grade(which is to be expected because they are just entering HS why should they be prepared to tackle a college course).

Personally I think the rush to take AP classes freshman year over other HS courses is a disservice to students and the courses themselves. I wouldn’t stop kids from enrolling but at the same time I wouldn’t be adjusting course content and expectations. When you sign up to take college courses you get a college course.

Anonymous wrote:So some schools do AP Gov freshman year and others APUSH? Why the variation.

For OP, I agree with APUSH with zero test pressure

Because in MCPS principals are the last word. Forget it if best practice is APgov before APUSH—the principal is going to do their own thing.

MCPS (for high school) is not a school system, it’s 25 kingdoms run by spectacularly unevenly qualified principals.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, why don’t kids at EVERY McPS HS have these options?

I believe kids at every MCPS HS do have the options to take both APUSH and AP GOV.

No. Blair students strictly follow APUSH -> AP Gov -> AP World (or corresponding honor class at each grade). I heard Churchill strictly enforces AP World -> APUSH.

You heard wrong.. Churchill does APUSH or Honors US in 9th, followed by AP Gov or Honors Gov in 10th.

So some schools do AP Gov freshman year and others APUSH? Why the variation.

For OP, I agree with APUSH with zero test pressure

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH isn’t a great class for freshman to take. If they are very strong readers and writers, it’s fine, but I do think that the benefits that come from a class like this are greater if kids take it sophomore or junior year. I didn’t realize some schools allowed kids to take it in 9th.

DD used Yawp 1 + 2 per the suggestion of a friend at private school (where, btw, most kids take APUSH in junior year). Highly recommend.

This is why Einstein switched to AP Gov for 9th grade and APUSH for 10th

Einstein, rightly or wrongly, is trying to limit AP Gov in 9th, perhaps having had too many struggle with it in recent years. It is not being made available this year as an option on their course request/registration form for rising 9th graders -- students (or families) have to contact their counselor to ask for it, then the counselor will require feedback from the student's current (8th grade) social studies teacher as to the student's capability before making the switch on the back end.

Gatekeeping of this kind not only tends to favor those in the know, but, if applied similarly to classes which tend to be prerequisites, also tends to limit the size of the cohort which might support more advanced courses in later grades (and in a smaller school such as Einstein, this would become a greater issue than at a larger school). These kinds of insidious inequities seem rife enough already in MCPS.

I would call it gaming the system instead of gatekeeping. They automatically enroll all 9th graders with a spring MAP-R above a certain number without telling them. They do the same thing for 10th graders in AP Seminar. They think it boosts their MSDE report card score the same way they think it’s good to ask 9th graders to retake a math MCAP they took in 7th grade to boost the Einstein report card.

My 9th grader enjoys AP Gov once the school purchased textbooks for all students (late November). It makes sense to take it right after Civics as it feels like a deeper dive into familie content. They certainly aren’t learning how to write in Honors for all English 9 so I appreciate the slow roll into AP courses.

8th grade is usually the first half of US history, not Civics. 9th grade Honors History picks up around where 8th leaves off, whereas APUSH stars at the beginning again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH isn’t a great class for freshman to take. If they are very strong readers and writers, it’s fine, but I do think that the benefits that come from a class like this are greater if kids take it sophomore or junior year. I didn’t realize some schools allowed kids to take it in 9th.

DD used Yawp 1 + 2 per the suggestion of a friend at private school (where, btw, most kids take APUSH in junior year). Highly recommend.

This is why Einstein switched to AP Gov for 9th grade and APUSH for 10th

Einstein, rightly or wrongly, is trying to limit AP Gov in 9th, perhaps having had too many struggle with it in recent years. It is not being made available this year as an option on their course request/registration form for rising 9th graders -- students (or families) have to contact their counselor to ask for it, then the counselor will require feedback from the student's current (8th grade) social studies teacher as to the student's capability before making the switch on the back end.

Gatekeeping of this kind not only tends to favor those in the know, but, if applied similarly to classes which tend to be prerequisites, also tends to limit the size of the cohort which might support more advanced courses in later grades (and in a smaller school such as Einstein, this would become a greater issue than at a larger school). These kinds of insidious inequities seem rife enough already in MCPS.

AP Gov does appear as a choice for 9th grade on their 4-year course planner and in their course bulletin for 26-27:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uyo8tzEC1tTuYJ-ozCOe0zVzaK4OSo9j1jUdtSshzA4/edit?tab=t.0

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ahQmKa3acSRnJPnTI4UnQ23eQj5GXYUFaBQio0PtgfI/edit?tab=t.0

Yes, but there are several courses listed in the bulletin that were not on the actual Google form students fill out. My 9th grader wasn’t able to select volleyball. Students in grades 9-11 also had ij person meetings with counselors where the counselor was supposed to discuss the student course selections and enter them into synergy. This is when we found out that some courses ij the bulletin and on the Google form for rising 10th graders aren’t available for students to self-select (AP Seminar). This is also when we learned the head counselor is gatekeeping who can apply for virtual health classes over the summer.

I encourage all parents to email Mr Brown and Dr Taylor so he has documentation of your recognition of his manipulation of the system. Principals don’t get to invent prerequisites. This is exactly what the OLO Report 2026-2 was calling out.

I would also inform Councilmember Luedtke as she is the one that requested the OLO Report.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH isn’t a great class for freshman to take. If they are very strong readers and writers, it’s fine, but I do think that the benefits that come from a class like this are greater if kids take it sophomore or junior year. I didn’t realize some schools allowed kids to take it in 9th.

DD used Yawp 1 + 2 per the suggestion of a friend at private school (where, btw, most kids take APUSH in junior year). Highly recommend.

This is why Einstein switched to AP Gov for 9th grade and APUSH for 10th

Einstein, rightly or wrongly, is trying to limit AP Gov in 9th, perhaps having had too many struggle with it in recent years. It is not being made available this year as an option on their course request/registration form for rising 9th graders -- students (or families) have to contact their counselor to ask for it, then the counselor will require feedback from the student's current (8th grade) social studies teacher as to the student's capability before making the switch on the back end.

Gatekeeping of this kind not only tends to favor those in the know, but, if applied similarly to classes which tend to be prerequisites, also tends to limit the size of the cohort which might support more advanced courses in later grades (and in a smaller school such as Einstein, this would become a greater issue than at a larger school). These kinds of insidious inequities seem rife enough already in MCPS.

I would call it gaming the system instead of gatekeeping. They automatically enroll all 9th graders with a spring MAP-R above a certain number without telling them. They do the same thing for 10th graders in AP Seminar. They think it boosts their MSDE report card score the same way they think it’s good to ask 9th graders to retake a math MCAP they took in 7th grade to boost the Einstein report card.

My 9th grader enjoys AP Gov once the school purchased textbooks for all students (late November). It makes sense to take it right after Civics as it feels like a deeper dive into familie content. They certainly aren’t learning how to write in Honors for all English 9 so I appreciate the slow roll into AP courses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH isn’t a great class for freshman to take. If they are very strong readers and writers, it’s fine, but I do think that the benefits that come from a class like this are greater if kids take it sophomore or junior year. I didn’t realize some schools allowed kids to take it in 9th.

DD used Yawp 1 + 2 per the suggestion of a friend at private school (where, btw, most kids take APUSH in junior year). Highly recommend.

This is why Einstein switched to AP Gov for 9th grade and APUSH for 10th

Einstein, rightly or wrongly, is trying to limit AP Gov in 9th, perhaps having had too many struggle with it in recent years. It is not being made available this year as an option on their course request/registration form for rising 9th graders -- students (or families) have to contact their counselor to ask for it, then the counselor will require feedback from the student's current (8th grade) social studies teacher as to the student's capability before making the switch on the back end.

Gatekeeping of this kind not only tends to favor those in the know, but, if applied similarly to classes which tend to be prerequisites, also tends to limit the size of the cohort which might support more advanced courses in later grades (and in a smaller school such as Einstein, this would become a greater issue than at a larger school). These kinds of insidious inequities seem rife enough already in MCPS.

AP Gov does appear as a choice for 9th grade on their 4-year course planner and in their course bulletin for 26-27:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uyo8tzEC1tTuYJ-ozCOe0zVzaK4OSo9j1jUdtSshzA4/edit?tab=t.0

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ahQmKa3acSRnJPnTI4UnQ23eQj5GXYUFaBQio0PtgfI/edit?tab=t.0

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, why don’t kids at EVERY McPS HS have these options?

I believe kids at every MCPS HS do have the options to take both APUSH and AP GOV.

No. Blair students strictly follow APUSH -> AP Gov -> AP World (or corresponding honor class at each grade). I heard Churchill strictly enforces AP World -> APUSH.

You heard incorrectly. It's APUSH -> APNSL -> AP World at Churchill

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH isn’t a great class for freshman to take. If they are very strong readers and writers, it’s fine, but I do think that the benefits that come from a class like this are greater if kids take it sophomore or junior year. I didn’t realize some schools allowed kids to take it in 9th.

DD used Yawp 1 + 2 per the suggestion of a friend at private school (where, btw, most kids take APUSH in junior year). Highly recommend.

This is why Einstein switched to AP Gov for 9th grade and APUSH for 10th

Einstein, rightly or wrongly, is trying to limit AP Gov in 9th, perhaps having had too many struggle with it in recent years. It is not being made available this year as an option on their course request/registration form for rising 9th graders -- students (or families) have to contact their counselor to ask for it, then the counselor will require feedback from the student's current (8th grade) social studies teacher as to the student's capability before making the switch on the back end.

Gatekeeping of this kind not only tends to favor those in the know, but, if applied similarly to classes which tend to be prerequisites, also tends to limit the size of the cohort which might support more advanced courses in later grades (and in a smaller school such as Einstein, this would become a greater issue than at a larger school). These kinds of insidious inequities seem rife enough already in MCPS.

Only a few schools offer APush in 9th grade. It is generally taught in 10th or 11th grade

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my kids did APUSH - most high stats kids at their HS did. If your child wants to attend a top college, they are competing with their peers and need to show rigor, and taking APs is how they do that. If your child is not aiming for a top college, then it doesn't matter

OP Here. Maybe DD has bigger plans but I'd be happy with UMD, especially their Honors College.

Reality check - UMD is a very tough admit from MCPS, especially in many STEM majors.

Some thoughts about the question - APUSH or Honors US History:

Here's the thing, it depends on your reason for considering the course and what you want from it:
If you are doing it for college admissions - they look at the course load and grade, but rarely look at the actual AP test scores. So take the course and skip the exam if you want to
If you are doing it for cohort or learning to study/handle rigorous classes- AP test score doesn't matter and a B vs an A doesn't matter either- you'd actually "learn" from your experience even if you don't score well in class or on the exam. It's a learning experience all around
If you are looking for balance for your student, looking to reduce stress/make more time for other things, or are trying to have the highest GPA with less time commitment- then it may not make sense to take the course.
If you are doing it for the college credit - then the AP test score matters, and so does where you go to school. While most state schools take AP credits, many other top 50 schools do not.

Anonymous wrote:I am perplexed that folks can't answer the question - DC has the choice of APUSH in 9 - and folks are recommending waiting - that is not an actual option at DCs chosen school. My biggest issue w/ the "Honors" history being offered as a freshman is that DC gets super frustrated when the class gets so disruptive and others don't want to do the work, which is why I think DC would be better off being pushed in APUSH. Not in a magnet, so it would be the only AP Class, would take ALG II,and the rest on grade courses. Our school recommends COllege Prep - anyone have experience w/ that?

Our MCPS school also offers APUSH in 9th grade and I think we are in the minority. Most schools offer AP Govt freshman year, which I understand is a better way to be introduced to AP classes. My 9th grader is taking APUSH now and its tough. He does fine on his assignments and he likes the material but he struggles with the tests and his grades reflect that. I think the biggest difference between APUSH and Honors is that they teach to the AP exam. And based on his test scores, I don't see the AP exam going very well for him. In retrospect, I wish we would have opted for Honors.

I am perplexed that folks can't answer the question - DC has the choice of APUSH in 9 - and folks are recommending waiting - that is not an actual option at DCs chosen school. My biggest issue w/ the "Honors" history being offered as a freshman is that DC gets super frustrated when the class gets so disruptive and others don't want to do the work, which is why I think DC would be better off being pushed in APUSH. Not in a magnet, so it would be the only AP Class, would take ALG II,and the rest on grade courses. Our school recommends COllege Prep - anyone have experience w/ that?