<p>I had a teacher in high school whose policy was something along these lines: he would raise your grade by a certain specified percentage depending on your score on the AP exam. However, the maximum grade this could give you in the class was a B+/A- (which one depended on the effort you'd put into the class, not specifically how well you'd done in it) if you got a 5, or a B- if you got a 4. This way, if there were major discrepancies between his grading and your AP score, there was some sort of saving grace (like, if you got a C+ in the class but a 5 on the AP exam you could get your grade raised to a B+), but getting a 5 on the AP exam did not allow you to get an automatic A. If you wanted an A, you had to do the work. Period.</p>
<p>What texas137 had said on the first page absolutely sums up my opinions of AP classes, and I could not agree more.
“Many (most?) kids are going to have AP scores and course grades that coincide pretty well, and this discussion is irrelevant to them. There are 2 groups who are likely to have a sharp disparity - the “Conscientious Plugger” of limited intellectual ability, and the “Lazy Smart Kid”. Maybe every course should have 2 grades. One grade could be designed to measure effort expended, the other to measure level of knowledge and ability in the subject, however it was gained. Colleges could do with that whatever they wish. I personally loathed high school, and found it to be a strong anti-learning and anti-intellectual experience (this was the pre-AP era). My sympathy is with the smart kid who can demonstrate mastery of a subject more easily than s/he can play the game that leads to good grades in high school.”</p>
<p>For the people complaining that grades should not be changed because of AP exams, I only have this to say… If you receive an A, but can’t even get above a 4 on the test, it is obvious that your grade does not accurately reflect your ability because you could not even get a 5 on the material you were tested on. My sympathies go to the students who did not kiss ass for their grades and actually demonstrated substantial understanding. I honestly believe that the ap test is the only universal and fair indicator of competence for AP classes, and grades should be adjusted for them.</p>
<p>Ap world: 4 raise one letter grade. 5=automatic As
Ap physics: 5=automatic As, 3=2% extra credit, 4=10% extra credit applied to one semester</p>
<p>This is a thread originally from nine years ago.</p>