<p>S took AP USHistory this past year as a soph (the only AP class that sophs at our school are allowed to take, and last year was the first year they could do so). He worked hard, got a B, did the best he could, learning experience, it's weighted anyway in our school's system, blah blah blah. All was fine. Both he and his twin sister will be taking several AP's this coming year as juniors. </p>
<p>Just got the AP exam results back today. He got a 5 on the exam - to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised, as I guess I was expecting that because of the B, he'd probably get a 3.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, are there schools in which the AP final grade impacts the class score? Does it look "inconsistent" or weird to get the B in the class but the 5 on the test?</p>
<p>I do not know of US high schools using the AP exam score to compute the final class grade, but there may be some. The fact that the scores are released in July makes it problematic. It is not unusual to get a B or even a C in the class and a 5 on the exam. AP exams are curved to about an 80% equating to a 5. It does not reflect poorly on your child, if you are concerned about college apps.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to your first question, but as for the second question, a 5 on the exam and a B in the class is not necessarily a bad thing. The 5 confirms your son’s mastery of the material. It also tells colleges something about the rigor of the high school’s curriculum and grading standards. High AP test scores coupled with lower AP course grades may indicate grade deflation and a challenging curriculum. (Conversely, low scores and high grades may signal grade inflation and an unchallenging curriculum – those are bad things). Your son should definitely report his score on his applications.</p>
<p>My son got an A in Calc AB and a 1 on the AP exam … the first time. New school, took AB again, got an A for the course and a 5 for the AP exam. Different teaching styles?</p>
<p>My son’s AP World History teacher was completely off base in terms of having grades correlate with scores. At least according to S2 kids who had scored well on practice exams got 3’s while he’d scored less well on practice exams and got a 5 on the real one. He’d gotten a B+ in the class. He had some issues with the teacher who was dynamic and had many kids (and parents) who adored him, but my son lost all his respect for him early on when he found him playing fast and loose with the facts. Ironically for my son at least, he turned out to be a great teacher, because he turned into a fact checker and probably did a lot more outside reading than he would have otherwise.</p>
<p>My oldest daughter got a B in AP stat and a 5 on the exam. Teacher told her she missed too many classes (she was on a national team and had traveled to Europe for two competitions) hence the lower grade overall. She had an A on every assignment and test. In the long run, the B didn’t really hurt her.</p>
<p>AP scores don’t affect grades at our school. It’s a good thing in some cases. S1 got an A in AP Bio. but a 3 on the exam. S2 got a B in AP Human Geography and a 2 on the exam.</p>
<p>I got a C+ first semester, while really trying, in Calc BC and I’m quite sure I would have gotten a 5 had I taken the AP test based off of practice tests. I had to sign up in February, after the C+ I figured it was best to take AB.</p>
<p>I got an A in AP Chem without much effort and probably would have only gotten a 4 on the test. (If even that, definately not a 5.)</p>
<p>A lot of it depends on the teacher grade-wise. I think a better indicator might be how much effort you put into the class. His experience seems to indicate that as well.</p>