Do private high schools typically offer AP classes?
Some do, some don’t. Many private HS’s have moved away from the AP curriculum because they do not feel the need to “teach to the test” and they feel they can put together a curriculum better than the CB. Having said that, even if the school does not offer AP classes, they will offer courses at the AP level and beyond, and many students still take the AP tests.
Totally agree with @skieurope . Some offer a combo of IB and AP. I think most recognize that many students (and the school) benefit from the validation of third party testing (including for credit ).
Also, even if the high school doesn’t specifically call something an AP class students may still be able to take an AP test. (Though I think the AP guys are moving away from encouraging that.)
Some of the more elite privates offer limited APs, no APs or are moving away from APs. Part of the reason is that there is such a tight range of student abilities at some of these schools, that they don’t need to offer APs to differentiate between students. They also like to offer classes that have more discussion and latitude in what is being taught
There are two independent schools in our community. One offers an array of AP courses, the other offers none, for the reasons that @skieurope mentions.
Many do, some don’t. You’ll have to look at each school’s particulars.
Very limited AP offerings at my D’s rigorous private school.
Whether or not a private ups the quality of non-AP courses depends very much on the school itself. Not all privates are the same.
My sons’ private offers very limited AP and does not encourage taking them.
Thank you all for the replies. This is good to know.
Bay Area “elite/rigorous privates” (sorry if that sounds pretentious, referring to the well regarded ones, typically considered college preps) definitely offer a broad spectrum of APs and do encourage taking them. The ones I am familiar with offer more than our comparable public because they offer the newer courses like AP CS and have more extensive language offerings, plus Art History, European History, and AP Psych, courses not offered at our public (could have changed some last couple years).
Both private schools we considered offered AP classes, as did the public and charter schools. I’ll admit that I wondered about the cost benefits of sending my child to a private school where she would get the same AP classes as the public school.
Some public schools encourage taking many ap classes and some private schools feel that their courses are more challenging and better than AP. It is the individual school and quality of the course that may make the difference.
I do not think you can say that even all AP classes are created equally. Teachers may add extra papers, projects etc. to a course and these may or may not be enriching experiences. In some schools the kids take AB calculus and then BC, and in others it is an either or proposition.
In considering AP classes, it may be helpful to the student to think about fulfilling some lower level prerequisites that could we large intro courses in college (econ, statistics, even CS). Many colleges require an english comp unless you get a 5 on AP- so less chance to waive out). Skipping science intro classes may not be possible for premeds for example, but a good thing for a liberal arts student who has a science requirement and doesn’t want to take college science. My own kid later wished she had taken econ, stats or CS as AP, since these were distribution requirements unrelated to her goals and she had to take them at her college.
Good academic ones: generally yes.
Some elite ones: may try to offer what they consider better than AP courses.
Less academic ones: probably few or none.
The elite private school near us doesn’t offer AP but does brag on the website about the number of 4’s and 5’s received on the tests and the number of tests taken.
@CADREAMIN, I’m from the Bay Area, too, and although many public high schools offer extensive number of AP’s (including the ones you mention in CS, European History, Art History, etc.), I suspect those elite privates you mention study the same subjects a lot more in-depth and do a much better job preparing kids for the exams.
It was a very humbling experience for me when last year (my daughter was in 7th grade): her public middle school teacher decided to compose a team of top math kids from Algebra I class and bring them to Bay Area math olympiad (don’t recall the exact name). All other schools were private ones and from what i could see and hear from my daughter, practically all the math questions were out of our public-schoolers’ league despite supplemental math classes, etc. I don’t know at which grade level those elite-schooled kids may take Calculus BC, but I have no doubt they would be a lot better prepped for it than my daughter and her classmates.
Ten schools (the elite ten in Northeast) doesn’t offer AP classes specifically… but their curriculum is strong enough for the students to take any AP exam and score well. (mostly 5"s) Many students register and take AP exams independently.
Our public HS doesn’t offer AP classes, but instead developed its own curriculum for equivalent level classes (many students do take AP exams after these classes but the school does not teach to the test and taking the AP exam is not required). I has not had any impact on college admissions.
@typiCAmom my kids took AP calc BC as juniors in private HS. But that was cause they were put on fast track at their public middle school, so I believe our public would have kids doing it as juniors as well. Technically, that is 2 years ahead of regular math progression. As seniors they took multi-variable calc. I think there are always those random whiz kids that may even pace a year ahead of that, but just a couple here or there.