Exactly
There are many reasons why a kid who got an A in class might get a 1 or 2 on the actual AP test. Happens a lot. (Happened to my kids). Kids might be sick or panic during the test, or simply have too many AP tests in one week/too exhausted to prep well for all of them. Sometimes the material emphasized in class and the topics kid prepped well for aren’t on the national test. I am not in favor of lowering a course grades in this case. OTOH It is much rarer for a student to get a 4 or 5 while having a C, D, or F in the class. I would be in favor of raising a grade in a case like that, but it would be up to the school/teacher, and would depend on the situation. I’d have to know why the student got the lower grade. Absences, missing homework assignments/notes not turned in? Or was it due to subjective grading of essays by the teacher? Getting a B when you felt you deserved an A isn’t that big of a deal. But a C or lower with a 5 on the test? I’d wonder why. If the student just neglected to do the assignments, that’s too bad. While college course grades are usually based on a few tests, high school grades are more often built on many small assignments throughout the semester. Even if the student thinks the teacher’s assignments are just worthless busywork, if the teacher has spelled out the grading policy, the student has to do the work or take the lower grade. It seems unlikely that the kid could get a C or B changed to an A based on the AP score of 5 unless the school already has a policy on this. It will be nice, though, to get the college credit if it is offered at his college. That’s worth a lot more than a high school A.
A couple of years ago we moved to a new, more competitive community and school system. A LOT of the kids cheat on tests around here because the teachers don’t change the tests from year to year. Kids have tests from their older siblings and also the local tutoring place has them. Some teachers are worse for this than others, and in one of the AP US History classes, many kids who did not have the old tests got Bs and 4s or 5s on the exam. We just heard about two kids who got As (maybe A minus) in the class and got a 2 and a 3 on the exam (the mom was complaining about the AP exam and how it’s not a fair measure of knowledge). Everyone knew (except her I guess) that her kids had the old tests and cheated in the class so it’s really frustrating. So yeah, I do believe in giving kids a bump if their AP score doesn’t match their grade. For the opposite, I guess there are always kids who “aren’t good test takers” but for this class, the entire classroom grade was made up of tests so it’s hard for that theory to hold water.
My son had the same experience. He got an A in AP AB Calculus throughout the year but came out of the AP test saying, “Mom, whatever my score, I’m taking this course over in college. I’m shaky on too much of the material.”
It turned out that he got a 3, which wouldn’t have given him credit at his college anyway.
Nobody even considered the possibility that his grade should be lowered.
Please, be realistic.
If your son got A on exam, it means that he knows the subject.
If your son got C in class for the same subject - it means that teacher doesn’t care about the knowledge, but cares about something else. What is the likelihood that she would change the grade?
I had similar experience with my D2. In elementary school several kids took a test to be promoted in math. D2 was the best, according to the test. However, other children were promoted, because they showed enthusiasm and love for learning (but lacked proficiency in math) and my D was not mature enough (nobody argued with the fact that she knows math). Is it fair? Grrrrr … America breeds and promotes teacher’s pets. Next year I would swallow my pride and pay next year teacher to tutor my D. Pretty sure it would be enough to get promotion for the next year. Life is not fair, at so many levels.
There even more devoted employees not capable of doing anything useful, except climbing corporate ladder.
http://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2014-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php
Check this out. It is interesting to see how the scores vary by subject.
America keeps surprising me.
@californiaaa- you are mistaken on many levels. I have lots of students who do poorly in class where 25% of grade comes from daily reading quizzes (objective btw) b/c they don’t choose to read. They may eventually learn material - some pick it up in class, (had a super bright kid 2 years ago- refused to read or do hw- had a low C in class, but remembered everything I said, so killed tests/essays- and got a 5). Some do a ton of outside studying before the ap test - (I always recommend the “crash course” books - they are great at key knowledge)
Here is the hardest part for an AP teacher- the test doesn’t reflect what I care about- I have NO idea what will be on it. The largest essay could be on something we covered in depth, or glossed over. I am guessing just as much as the kids- and I stress about it.
too wonderful, I was not referring to the AP test when I said he got a 100. I was referring to the test score he got on one of his tests in the class. I agree that the AP classes are not always accurate but I have to say I was so thankful with his 5 in that particular class after the issues with his teacher.
AP test is an objective test, that compares student’s abilities. AP class (in school) is very subjective, depends on the teacher, know to be inconsistent among schools, etc.
Thus, colleges appreciate grades in AP classes, but not AP tests. Brilliant.
californiaaa–not sure what you mean. Colleges give credit for the AP test score only, not AP class grade.
I have heard of a policy for retroactively raising classroom grades after the AP scores came out. This was in Ohio, in a high school with about 300 students per graduating class, but relatively few in AP classes.
I have not heard of a policy for lowering classroom grades, based on AP outcomes. I wouldn’t really support the latter, because a student might be sick or tired during the AP exam, or have other issues.
In mathematics, the goal of students should be to understand the material, and to be able to solve unfamiliar problems, based on that understanding. Glittery posters and classroom compliance are not significant to mathematicians. If a student understands a concept and can employ it reliably, extra drill in homework is largely pointless.
However, university mathematicians are not in charge of grading in high-school mathematics classes.
The OP might get a sympathetic reaction from the HS administration, but probably not. That is too bad, in my opinion.
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Thanks! I thought that AP test score is negligibly relevant for admission, but GPA is very important. I would be happy if you correct me.
Our school system does not have such a policy nor do I think it makes sense. Classroom work is a separate thing from AP tests. Furthermore, last year is over, done and final. You can’t reopen the books and start changing grades.
It is possible your son’s AP grade will offset and counterbalance or even outweigh the classroom grade in the eyes of some college admissions readers. But both are part of the record.
Some districts weight AP grades more heavily (AP > Honors > College Prep). Your son will get credit for a higher degree of difficulty…
Not really correcting you, but it is just a matter of how you measure “appreciation” of grades vs AP scores by colleges. GPA is important for admission, but one B in an AP class isn’t going to hurt the overall GPA that much. A great score on the AP test is usually more valuable because that will save the student from taking the class in college and give him/her cheap credit. It can save a lot of time and money. So if you had to choose only one–the A in class or the 5 on the test, most students would benefit more from the 5. OTOH, some colleges give no AP credit, so those students would rather have the A in class.
@californiaaa - again, I would like to point out that many (most?) ap tests include an extended response (essay) portion that equals at least 1/2 the points (often more) that make up the overall score. Those extended responses are graded by teachers from around the nation- just as “subjective” as the classroom itself. (There is a rubric and a table head to spot check, but still…it a human) Granted, the readers don’t know the kids- but frankly I know a lot more teachers who subjectivity moves towards giving kids the “benefit of the doubt” than punishing particular students…
AP is not objective - but it is a national test. That’s why colleges like it (and they get more info from your score than your particular grade in that class) it’s the same reason they like ACT/SAT - it’s an easy way to compare apples to apples.
All the AP teachers at the high school my kids attended will bump a grade for a 3,4 or 5 on the AP test EXCEPT the AP English Language teacher. The only B’s my son’s got in high school (both were B+'s) were in AP English Language. They both scored well on the AP test (one got a 4, the other got a 5). The teacher was a piece of work and tended to give females A’s and males B’s. Papers that were turned in had no marks on them what-so-ever, just a score on the top. My daughter (who incidentally scored a 2 on the test) got an A in the class. 
Getting an A in a calculus class does not mean you know all of the material- just the material the teacher tested for.
UW-Madison often recommends students who “passed” the AP calculus exam (ie can get college credit for it) still start over with UW’s first semester course. Two likely reasons. First, not getting a 5 may mean not enough mastery to do well second semester (they apparently have found students often struggle) and second, AP calculus does not cover as much material as top colleges (just as any college course is not the same at all schools). My son got the 5 but started the completely different Honors sequence (theory, not problem based like the regular sequence and 4 courses in 3 semesters).
Kid also got B’s in AP Statistics because, while he had 100’s on quizzes and tests he had zeroes on homework. Part of a grade is doing the work (and showing it in that class). Teachers are teaching a class and evaluating their students but the AP exam tests what AP wants to be tested, not necessarily what the teacher wants.
I see no reason to retroactively change grades. Nor do I think schools should use the AP exam to grade the HS class. btw- son’s HS started almost a month after some schools and the AP exams were a month before the end of classes. Interesting how his good AP teachers were able to get the material covered for the exam- and still find material to cover the rest of the school year. And (of course) NO required work the summer before any AP courses!
My daughter commented that much of what they studied in AP bio was not tested on the AP exam. I also know that her AP Gov class does a lot of work that I consider valuable and pertinent but isn’t direct prep for the AP exam. Why would you heavily base a course grade on an exam that doesn’t necessarily reflect the entirety of what is covered and learned in the course?
Also, in our school, students are encouraged but not required to take the AP exams. The school doesn’t pay the costs and it gets quite expensive. Why should the school pay for so many students to take the AP exam as a substitute for a course final when they have already paid their teachers to give exams? And where is that money going to come from–they would have to fire a teacher.