<p>D's going to be 10th grader next year. She wants to take AP Chemistry without taking the regular high school Chemistry. The regular Chem is a pre-req. course, but she could ask for a waver. Any parent with experience... is it good/bad idea?</p>
<p>Whoa. I can't imagine any kid taking AP Chem without having first taken a basic chemistry course. At my son's HS Honors Chem is an absolute prerequisite to AP Chem. Why does your D want to do this? Does she have a strong background in chemistry acquired outside of school?</p>
<p>Actually D2 did exactly that--she took AP Chem in 10th grade without ever having taken <em>any</em> hs chemistry. The course was alot of work, but she survived it, got an A- in the class and a 3 on her AP exam. It was the first AP class/exam she had ever taken and really wasn't expecting the exam to be as comprehensive as it was so she didn't study for it ahead of time. Big mistake and a life lesson learned....she studied for her subsequent APs and did much better.</p>
<p>Actually D has taken all of her sciences classes (chem, bio, physC) as APs and all of them without ever having taken a regular or honors course first. It can be done--but it requires a very disciplined student.</p>
<p>I took physics in college without having had any physics in high school. I imagine the experience would be similar. A lot to learn, but not impossible. But it does depend a bit on whether the course assumes you know a lot or if it starts at the beginning, but whizzes through faster. Most AP classes around here have some suggested summer readings - I'd suggest at least reading through a basic chem book would be in order.</p>
<p>My son did AP Chem without regular chem, however he had had fast-paced high school chem through CTY, so I think he was pretty well prepared.</p>
<p>Only if she is a very good, disciplined student who is a fast learner and is interested in the sciences. Othewise AP Chem can be GPA suicide.</p>
<p>A lot of smart kids take fast paced HS courses (usually three weeks long) through CTY over the summer to skip HS intro science courses and jump directly into AP class.
My kids are not in HS yet, but since they are advanced I have been inquiring as to what the best option should be. The consensus between parents who have been through this is that if the kid is truly "smart" , they are generally bored in regular intro classes. Kids like that take either CTY or EPGY class. There are however other options available. CC class is one, some HS offer courses through the summer. Also check out BYU distance education - a very affordable alternative.
This just a general info - not specific to the CHEM class :-)
Good luck to your D :-)</p>
<p>What's the hurry?</p>
<p>It is not the hurry - it is fighting boredom.
What do you do to keep a kid interested in learning...</p>
<p>D took AP Bio as a freshman without honors bio (A's and 5), and she was encouraged to do the same with AP chem and physics. We decided to get a better foundation and do the honors chem and physics first, opposite of what the school pushes. All the kids who took the AP chem w/o honors ... most of them got 2's on the exam and were very frustrated in the class. These were very bright kids. D's taking the AP chem now after the honors, and she's sailing through it, as she did the honors, so we've realized she probably could have done the AP chem in 10th. But she already had enough problems filling out a senior schedule since she's finished most of her grad requirements, and there are no electives to take. So, it's good she has the AP physics for next year; she needed it for an elective.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>My younger daughter took college chem (and aced it) without ever taking high school chem. My older d. took college pre-med biology (at age 13) without ever taking high school bio.</p>
<p>mini, your kids were/are truly exceptional [as their accomplishments have shown them to be]and I submit are probably are not an example of typical 10th graders.</p>
<p>I would submit that my younger one (the one who did college chem), with her 19 in science on the ACT, is not at all exceptional intellectually, though she has the drive to see it through. (I've written a funny article about the chemistry too, which will be in the July/August issue of Home Education Magazine. PM me privately with an e-mail, and I'll send it on.</p>
<p>At my son's high school, tons of kids take AP chem with no prior chem. There is a summer school course they can take the summer before that starts the course early. My son was not able to take that course. He did fine and it was not GPA suicide. Same with AP bio.</p>
<p>I'd look at the curriculum for your AP Chem. At our local hs, AP chem is not just a juiced up regular chem class. It doesn't cover a lot of the foundation material covered in regular chem and it is very lab oriented.</p>
<p>Big difference in Chemistry and Physics for skipping regular course- here can do AP Physics, not Chem without prior course and as a Chem undergrad major I can see why.</p>
<p>Has she had some basic chemistry in previous science classes? My d took a "Physical Science" honors class in 8th grade that covered a lot of what she later learned in Chemistry.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who kindly responded to my question. Your opinion and experience are very helpful indeed. D and I will have a little more to think and talk about. She's disciplined and a decent science student, so I hope it'll work out.</p>
<p>My son took Honors Chemistry in 10th grade. He had a demanding teacher and worked hard, though he has pretty severe dyslexia and was really learning to adjust. He did quite well on all the tests (though he got poor grades on the lab writeups because the teacher was very detailed-oriented and writing things by hand was hard for him). He felt he learned quite a bit. He took AP Chemistry the next year and thought it was trivial. He couldn't understand why everyone else thought it was hard. He talked to his Honors Chemistry teacher and she told him that this was because he had actually figured out the chemistry and didn't just memorize formulas. He felt that AP Chemistry was redundant -- it contained a few new sections that he could have learned in a few weeks. So, your daughter may have the experience my son had. On the other hand, most of the other kids in the class thought it was hard after having taken Honors Chemistry.</p>
<p>It depends on what results you and your D expect. If you are happy with A- and AP score 3. Go for it. If you want A or A+ and AP score 5, you need consider it very careful. Some kids lost their confidence in themself if they can not get the results they expected.</p>
<p>OP - my D is considering doing that with physics - skipping the regular class and going straight to AP. I told her to talk to her GC about it this week because we live in NY and she may have to take the regents exam first. She said she would be willing to self-study over the summer and take the regents exam in August. I just don't know if that will put her at a disadvantage in the AP course.</p>
<p>shawbridge - according to my D's Honors Chem teacher, the AP Chem course is much easier than Honors Chem. He told me that kids who really understand the work in the honors class sail through the AP course.</p>