<p>Two questions about APs: What colleges accept credit for a 5 on the AP World History exam. And do you guys usually do better on AP exams senior year than junior year? This was my first year taking the APs and I completely bombed (failed) 2 of my tests. I hope that with my experience of taking these ******* hard tests, I would be better prepared and do better next year.</p>
<p>If you go to collegeboards website you can find AP information for every school. My advice would basically be buy a prep book and study for a few weeks ahead of time. A lot of times teachers do not teach to the test so it is up to you to do well.</p>
<p>"A lot of times teachers do not teach to the test so it is up to you to do well."</p>
<p>A little sidetracking: In theory, if teachers teach <em>everything</em>, not just "to the test" (assuming you actually pay attention to everything), shouldn't you do well on the test anyway? That's the way it seemed to work for AP USH and AP Lit at my school...</p>
<p>But I concur with the last part: ultimately, isn't it the student who earns the score? So what's with this "oh, I got a __ because my teacher was bad" excuse? (Of course, people also say "I got a 5 because my teacher was good" too, so it <em>could</em> even out, but...)</p>
<p>A good teacher can make it easier to get a high grade, but in the end, whether or not you get a high grade is based on your own effort. Nothing short of an "act of God" kind of thing (i.e., a meteorite lands right in front of you and seriously damages your vision 15 minutes before the exam, so it's too late to apply for DSS...OK, not quite so extreme, but you know what I mean: family issues, illness, etc.) will change that.</p>
<p>While you are correct, the teachers that I deem "not teaching to the test" actually sidetrack the student from getting the 5. For example my AP english Language teacher this year. She never gave us any practice multiple choice questions and inflated essay grades massively. When I confronted her about it she said "thats how the AP people grade them". I beg to differ, most people from her classes get 3's and many 2's as well when they thought they would get 5's because of what she gave them all year. But its not like the class was an easy A either because she would give impossible detail specific tests on books that had nothing to do with the AP exam. </p>
<p>Another good example is my biology teacher. While she taught some of the material, a lot of times she would spend weeks on a topic that made up 15 % of test at most while spending a few days on something that made up 30% on the test. It was crazy. </p>
<p>In the long run it is up to the student to understand what is on the exam and how to prepare for it in order to get the grade.</p>
<p>I'll give you an example of a teacher who doesn't teach what is on the AP test. My AP economics teacher is retiring next year and uses outdated powerpoint presentations for every class. While he is very knowledgeable, he didn't really focus on teaching. Instead, he spent all of his time concentrating helping the students on the Federal Reserve Challenge Team(I guess it worked out for him because they won nationals). He made us spend a month presenting economic indicators to the class. We then spent two months doing debates on current issues. It was absolutely ridiculous and I am not exaggerating at all. He wrote a review book and I bought it to use in addition to the textbook. I felt like I knew everything that he gone over in class and in the review book. I get to the test and get free response questions on topics that I had never heard of. I worked my ass off with my friends studying for the two tests, yet we got 4s and 3s. His Fed Challenge team got 5s. Damn.</p>
<p>for some classes it can be up to the student, but sometimes the teachers affects it as well...</p>
<p>i just got a 3 on AP Chem which I was extremely happy w/, as most people in my class would be... our teacher would constantly get sidetracked in class in quit teaching... he become a coach for a lot of teams for extra money and never made himself available for extra tutoring...</p>
<p>also some students need teacher motivation to get a better score... sometimes our teacher would frustrate us so much we felt like giving up on class...</p>
<p>so i completely understand when people complain about a teacher, but i also understand that sometimes it is used as an excuse for the student's laziness..</p>
<p>but i really came to post my scores</p>
<p>Chem - 3
Calc AB - 4
English Lit & Comp - 4</p>
<p>hell i'm happy</p>
<p>I'm a soph so I"m happy for getting all AP awards except natl'</p>
<p>World Hist: 5
Env Sci: 4
Psych: 4 Self Taught
US Gov: 4
Comp Gov: 3 Self Taught
Euro: 4 Self Taught</p>
<p>Avg a 4.33 for classes in school and a 3.66 for self taught AP's was decent if you ask me. Time to start studying for Sat II's early this year.</p>
<p>I made a five on AP Bio.</p>
<p>ComSci AB - 5
Calc AB - 5
Chem - 5</p>
<p>Bio - 5
Stat - 4 (***)
Spanish Lit - 3 (elation. i stopped doing homework when i submitted college applications).</p>
<p>guys, Ap scores don't matter. it's just some nonsense. it's more important to know what you know.</p>
<p>hell, most people in power fail these tests and yet make it to the top. it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>It matters to me only cause I paid $82 a test and want to see if it was a good investment. Thats all.</p>
<p>it all adds up. that's all i have to say.</p>
<p>Biology: 5
US History: 5
Latin: 5
World History:5
Language Comp: 3 (weird).</p>
<p>I am so fortunate that my public school pays for my exams. I only have to pay for the ones that I self study.</p>
<p>Ivyleagueorbust all of my friends have gotten 3's or 4's on the Lang comp exam and so have many CCer's... The curve must have been brutal this year.</p>
<p>I was told to wait three weeks for my US History score. They told me the same thing about 2-3 weeks ago when I called them about it( i got my scores by calling). However, they never tell you three weeks from what day... </p>
<p>Is it after you receive your score report, or when they first entered your scores into their system, or some other arbitrary date???</p>
<p>Got my score in Ct.</p>
<p>bio-5</p>
<p>4 on Lang & Comp - I still can't get over the Onion essay.</p>
<p>5 on US History</p>
<p>I feel so inferior to you guys- you have AMAZING scores.</p>
<p>USH- 4 (little surprised because I was so clueless about the test and took a lot of guesses on MC and wrote crap on essays)
Psych- 4 (I blame myself because I had no prep book to review- I just walked in and took the test :( coulda get 5)</p>