AP classes: How much summer homework?

Parents Forum
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<p>Our schools used to start mid-august but have now been mandated to start no earlier than Aug.25 state-wide due to an outcry from the tourist industry related folks who said that August was a lost month for them (at the beaches) because of school resuming so early.
In order to keep the year from dragging along til the end of June, holidays and teacher workdays were cut way back. For instance we only have one day off for Easter next week and Christmas break this year will only be 9 days and 7 days in 2007! Guess that shows what the politcians think is the most important. </p>

<p>Yeah, we live in the south too where the humidity is terrible in August. I worry every year about the football players (mine especially, lol) playing in the heat. With our new school schedule, we actually have our first football game this year before school even opens!</p>

<p>At our sch. Sophs. can only take AP Psyc,Human Geog.,Envir. Sci,or Stats. Civics and Economics is the required Social Studies course and must be taken before any AP Histories. After Soph. year anybody can sign up for as many as they want. My S took 7 total and was never too stressed. Our school system pays for the AP tests and requires they be taken.</p>

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<p>That is very different from our district. AP is not offered at all until Jr year and then you could only take maybe 4 ? English/Hist/Math/Science. Senior year you can take five if you are at 5th year of a foreign language in addition to those 4. And we have to pay for our own AP tests.
Stuff like this and all of the nuances of each schools grading scales must make the admissions people crazy......how to compare !</p>

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<p>Packmom:</p>

<p>that is great that the school pays for the AP tests. Our school is Catholic so parents have to pay for tests (wrote check last week). Sophs are only allowed to take AP USHistory and school discourages more than 2 or 3 in one year. I think that if the AP teachers gave meaningful homework in the summer, then the school year wouldn't be so stressful -- one teacher (in particular) can really pile on the AP homework.</p>

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<p>
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When I hear that some kids have take 12 or so AP classes, i wonder how do they do it if they are supposed to take the "reg" science class before.

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</p>

<p>Our students (can) take Bio in 9th, Chem in 10th, Physics + AP Bio in 11th, AP Physics + AP Chem in 12th</p>

<p>And then there are probably 12 other APs offered, plus the language APs. So yes, if you take an AP science, an AP calc, AP history, AP english and AP psychology, you can see how it's possible to have 5 APs a year. No-one said they were all sciences.</p>

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<p>I think schools that pay for the AP tests are in a minority. Most schools, including publics, have the students pay all or a large % of the fee. At our school, AP students sign a contract that they will take the AP test in May. but obviously some don't, and there are no consequences, except that those who don't take the AP test, then get extra projects and must take a final exam in June.</p>

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<p>choc: </p>

<p>I know that they arent all sciences. I probably wasn't clear in my post. My reference to sciences was that if a kid's schedule has to also include all the "reg science" classes, how do kids fit everything in. But i can see that many schools don't require the reg science classes, so kids have more time to take more of the other types of AP classes.</p>

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<p>Jlauer95, private school in Alabama. All students, practically from 1st grade on, have summer reading, and summer math packs up through geometry/algebra II. AP math and science classes do NOT have summer requirements, chem and calculus spend the first week or so doing mostly review, bio does not and DD took AP Physics cold (Correct me Greensleeves, if I'm way off base).
Honors English may read slightly different books (usually 2), AP Senior English definitely reads different books than the regular classes. Honors 11 takes the AP Eng Comp exam, AP English 12 takes the AP lit exam. In the history classes, everyone reads the same book except the AP classes - entire rising 9th grade read the same book. There is no homework involved. The books are discussed in the Eng and His classes the first week of school, and a short quiz is given. The history choices, particularly, are usually "advanced", and the students aren't really expected to know every little nuance and detail, it is as much to introduce them to the idea of reading non-fiction. For example, the regular, non-honors, 10th grade read Food Nation one year, my son read Plagues and Peoples, AP choices would be Children of Henry VIII, Rise to Globalism, etc. The Eng books are usually one short book that would ordinarily be part of the curriculum - like The Old Man and the Sea, that one's always there - and a second book of choice or teacher's choice, something that they wouldn't otherwise cover.</p>

<p>The whole point is to keep them in touch with reading, and as for math, the math packs are a BIG thing in elementary and middle school, they are for retention. The math packs are very much review. None of this is done to get a "head start" on AP or any of the regular curriculum. The school starts a week later than the public system here.</p>

<p>The overall AP average for Eng and History is probably a 4, calculus is almost a 5, most of the class makes 5s, bio a solid 4, other sciences don't do as well, but that is partly because the classes traditionally had not been taught as AP.</p>

<p>My D had the same teacher for APEuro and APUSH. D was a soph in APEuro, and the teacher had never taught the course before and found out she was going to teach it the week before school started - D and most of the class made 4s. Next year in APUSH, D and a good portion o the class made 5s - it was hard work, but I never thought they had inordinate amounts of homework. They did not read large numbers of books outside of class (none after the summer reading), they did write lots and lots DBQs, and spent a lot of time in class discussing and debating topics that tended to show up on the exam, so they were able to construct an argument on the fly. Facts seemed to be learned from reading the textbook (a must), thatwas the bulk of the homework.</p>