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These are doubtless some of the very same students who some feel very strongly should have the idea reinforced that reading is a detestable chore and an infringement upon their leisure time, too. Is it any wonder?
The AP exams were May 7th through May 18th this past year. The AP exams cover a good bit of material, which requires most teachers to maintain a fast paced schedule. If the teacher is sick or out of the classroom for a few days, he has to push that much more to cover the same amount of material plus prepare for free-response questions.
Some kids will take the initiative and study on their own but many students are expecting to be spoon-fed what will probably be on the test.
The thing is that the AP courses typically cover 1 semester's worth of college level material in nearly 2 semesters. If you have the best students taking the classes AND the kids are taking 2 semesters to cover 1 semester's worth of work why would have to give EVEN MORE WORK?
The thing is that the AP courses typically cover 1 semester's worth of college level material in nearly 2 semesters. If you have the best students taking the classes AND the kids are taking 2 semesters to cover 1 semester's worth of work why would have to give EVEN MORE WORK?
The reason for summer reading for AP students is two-fold (IMHO). First, it eliminates the kids who are only taking the class for the grade weighting bump or to have it show rigor of class on their transcript and Second, it helps students that have a later start time. In some parts of the country, school starts in early or mid-August, while others don't start until the Tuesday after Labor day. Those extra weeks can make a difference. Another time-suck is state testing which can consume weeks right before the test.
The reason for summer reading for AP students is two-fold (IMHO). First, it eliminates the kids who are only taking the class for the grade weighting bump or to have it show rigor of class on their transcript and Second, it helps students that have a later start time. In some parts of the country, school starts in early or mid-August, while others don't start until the Tuesday after Labor day. Those extra weeks can make a difference. Another time-suck is state testing which can consume weeks right before the test.
Good point! My kids took at least a dozen AP exams between them. The most summer work was for AP European History. Also keep in mind if you have a teacher who is out for various extracurriculars such as cross country, track, debate, etc.
Good point! My kids took at least a dozen AP exams between them. The most summer work was for AP European History. Also keep in mind if you have a teacher who is out for various extracurriculars such as cross country, track, debate, etc.
That's strange. In the social science courses my kids had no homework. They had tests and essays. The courses required them to be totally self motivated. They took AP Human Geography, World History, US History and Government.
Of course the science/math courses had homework and lab requirements. None of the AP courses at our school have additional summer work except for AP English where the kids read one more novel than the honors classes. Given that the students do really well on the AP exams I wonder if the extra work really helps.
The reason for summer reading for AP students is two-fold (IMHO). First, it eliminates the kids who are only taking the class for the grade weighting bump or to have it show rigor of class on their transcript and Second, it helps students that have a later start time. In some parts of the country, school starts in early or mid-August, while others don't start until the Tuesday after Labor day. Those extra weeks can make a difference. Another time-suck is state testing which can consume weeks right before the test.
But the college courses are only one semester long. The AP courses take almost two full semesters to teach. Most of my kids teachers cover the material in a much shorter time frame and use the extra time to review for the exam.
AP courses in our school have much less "busy work" than regular classes. In fact, in the social science classes they had no assignments at all, just tests and essays.
Edited to add: At our school if you take an AP course and want AP weighting you have to take the exam. If you don't take the exam you get honors weighting (or regular weighting in classes where honors is not offered).
But the college courses are only one semester long. The AP courses take almost two full semesters to teach. Most of my kids teachers cover the material in a much shorter time frame and use the extra time to review for the exam.
AP courses in our school have much less "busy work" than regular classes. In fact, in the social science classes they had no assignments at all, just tests and essays.
Edited to add: At our school if you take an AP course and want AP weighting you have to take the exam. If you don't take the exam you get honors weighting (or regular weighting in classes where honors is not offered).
And college courses are for College kids.... I do think that AP courses are harder then regular ones, but they are meant for HS kids, who are 15-18 years old. Seems like it's okay for them to take twice as long to get through the material.
We've talked about AP classes before on this forum, maybe if we want to discuss them further we can start another thread. I find it interesting how the very same subject can be taught differently, and the kids still do well on the end test.
Let children be children - they will be adults a lot longer than they will be children.
I did say that some required reading may be okay as long as the student knows that is expected when he/she signs up for a class. This I would assume would only be in high school.
Other than that, no required reading is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momma_bear
Why would AP courses require summer work? My kids never had tons of extra work for any of their AP courses.
I know that AP English reads one extra novel. All the math/science classes have a graded review packet regardless of whether it is college prep, honors or AP level. The best students need the least amount of busywork of all.
Oh, I don't know about that.^ I was an honor roll student who zipped through school work in minutes. If I wasn't kept busy I would annoy others.
Good thing teachers sent me on 'missions' instead of always giving me more work.
I never had required summer reading and I eventually learned to read just fine. I caught up to my peers and then surpassed them.
Making someone read over a vacation does not instill a love for reading; mostly it instills a loathing for reading.
But many HS kids who should not be taking AP courses are taking them. Some schools tell the kids that taking the test is a requirement if they sign up for the class.
An AP class is supposed to be similar to a college class, but think about how many college students should not be in college. They also expect to be spoon-fed the information. Attend a college class and find out how many professors are handing out study guides to students who never bothered to buy the book.
Then they should be put back in mainstream classrooms. The answer isn't giving busy work to the kids who clearly don't need it.
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