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As a parent of a middle schooler I have begun paying more attention to the classes kids are taking in high schools. I’m floored by the number of AP classes these kids take. I find myself wondering if these are watered down compared to the AP classes that were offered when I was in high school-because there was no way I could have taken 8-12 Of them! With so many offered and colleges wanting to see kids take more and more of these AP level classes, do you think they are easier than they used to be? Curious to hear from parents of kids who are taking or have taken these courses. Thanks!
As a parent of a middle schooler I have begun paying more attention to the classes kids are taking in high schools. I’m floored by the number of AP classes these kids take. I find myself wondering if these are watered down compared to the AP classes that were offered when I was in high school because there was no way I could have taken 8-12 Of them! With so many offered and colleges wanting to see kids take more and more of these AP level classes, do you think they are easier than they used to be? Curious to hear from parents of kids who are taking or have taken these courses. Thanks!
I can't speak to the schools around here but I grew up in a high school (2005-2009 haha) that was very competitive and everyone tried to take as many AP classes as they could and I can tell you that they are no joke. I definitely did more work in some of them than my engineering college classes.
If the kids are taking these AP classes and then getting 4's/5's on the AP exam, you can be assured they aren't watered down at all. As you said, there's a perception that colleges want to see kids take the hardest classes available to them at their high schools which is leading to some ultra-competitive students when it comes to taking every possible AP class.
I can't speak to the schools around here but I grew up in a high school (2005-2009 haha) that was very competitive and everyone tried to take as many AP classes as they could and I can tell you that they are no joke. I definitely did more work in some of them than my engineering college classes.
If the kids are taking these AP classes and then getting 4's/5's on the AP exam, you can be assured they aren't watered down at all. As you said, there's a perception that colleges want to see kids take the hardest classes available to them at their high schools which is leading to some ultra-competitive students when it comes to taking every possible AP class.
All APs are not created equal.
I can't speak for right now; but I was in High School around this same time but locally (Apex High School).
APUSH, AP Stats, AP Calc, and AP Bio...definitely not watered down. HARD EARNED 4s/5s on all of those
AP Psych?..... we watched "Mean Girls" as an actual study lesson. Easy 4. (to be fair; even the 200 and 300 level Psych classes I took once I actually got to college; were some of the easiest courses there too)
I've just gone through this with a daughter now at UNC-CH and a son that is a junior in high school. From the research I have done for a school like UNC Chapel Hill, taking any more than 5 AP classes is overkill in terms of demonstrating class rigor. I don't think there is any reason for kids these days to be taking 10-12 AP classes. With that said, the difficulty of AP classes is varied with APES, APHUG, AP Psych and AP Stats being easier as compared to AP Calc AB & B/C, AP Chem, AB Bio, and AP Physics being quite a bit more difficult. All of the AP classes whether difficult or of the easier variety are all very time consuming however. My daughter only took 5 AP classes and we felt that was plenty.
I can't speak for right now; but I was in High School around this same time but locally (Apex High School).
APUSH, AP Stats, AP Calc, and AP Bio...definitely not watered down. HARD EARNED 4s/5s on all of those
AP Psych?..... we watched "Mean Girls" as an actual study lesson. Easy 4. (to be fair; even the 200 and 300 level Psych classes I took once I actually got to college; were some of the easiest courses there too)
Oh I agree that there are varying levels (also depends on your teacher too) but if you want to get a 4/5, you do need to put in a little bit of more effort than the typical class.
My AP Physics teacher was useless and we just did pointless experiments the whole class and I ended up teaching myself all the material to get a 3 haha
Don't mix apples and oranges. The classes carry a weight on the GPA, so if you get a B you still get a 4.0. An "A"? You get a 5.0. But that's completely separate from what you may get on the AP exam, and whether you get college credit.
IMHO, only the best teachers should be teaching AP classes. The class may be "watered down" but then you're not gonna do well on the AP exam. Also, a lot of kids opt NOT to take the AP exam. They are just in it for the weighted grade.
I don't agree about the subject matter. If you have a crap teacher in APUSH and a fantastic teacher in AP Psych it makes a difference. The curriculum is prescribed by the college board. It all comes down to the exam.
Any student who is taking more than 4-5 APs in high school is either a pure genius or just after the weighted grade. Period.
Any student who is taking more than 4-5 APs in high school is either a pure genius or just after the weighted grade. Period.
I'm not sure how high schools work around here but when I was in high school, teachers would not sign you off for AP classes next year if they thought you couldn't handle the class/material. So if you did end up taking 4-5 AP classes, well you were most likely already doing well in the prerequisite classes.
I'm not sure how high schools work around here but when I was in high school, teachers would not sign you off for AP classes next year if they thought you couldn't handle the class/material. So if you did end up taking 4-5 AP classes, well you were most likely already doing well in the prerequisite classes.
Yes.
Weighted GPA is a factor for some of the "easy" AP course enrollments I'm sure. But in the climate of inflating student loan debt..... being able to start college as a second-semester freshman or even a sophomore because of the amount of credits you have and having that many fewer semesters of tuition to pay is not an insignificant factor either.
I'm not sure how high schools work around here but when I was in high school, teachers would not sign you off for AP classes next year if they thought you couldn't handle the class/material. So if you did end up taking 4-5 AP classes, well you were most likely already doing well in the prerequisite classes.
It’s very easy to take that many nowadays. My daughter has a classmate taking three this semester alone. This kid is REALLY smart but taking 3 APs playing a varsity sport and president of a club. It’s a lot.
The question was - are AP classes watered down nowadays. Bottom line - look at the AP scores. The college board presbribes the curriculum. Stray from that and you're not gonna have students who do well on the APs. Take kids who don't care or do the work and they aren't going to do well on the AP exam. Every year the college board releases he overall score spectrum and there are kids who get a 1. Not sure how that's even possible if you go to class but it tells you something - NATIONWIDE - about the test and that needs to be correlated with that student's grade in the class.
Also consider in WCPSS with an AP class in the fall you have 4 months between the end of the class and the AP exam. Consider if you take the AP class in the spring the exam is given 4 weeks before the end of the term. It isn't easy for those kids either way. But the test is the test. Doesn't matter if you live in Wake County or BFE Idaho or NYC. And teachers are human. Some are fantastic, some are good and some are crap.
Last edited by twingles; 02-07-2020 at 09:08 PM..
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