<p>At my school, we have a similar progression to what beth’s mom described, where most college bound kids take AP Bio as juniors and either skip science or take AP Chem senior year. We also have excellent physics teachers, both for regular and AP level, so I think the problem at our school is that it’s not something you get introduced to as a freshman or sophomore (like Bio and Chem respectively) so some kids would rather not branch out from stuff they already know. Another point to consider is the abundance of Bio related electives, while there is no way to ease in to physics with a half year course.
That being said, having taken AP Physics as a junior has made BC Calc a heck of a lot easier to understand for me as a senior:)</p>
<p>The high school my son attends requires every freshman to take a basic physics course. After that, they take bio and chem, and then may choose to take AP physics as seniors. Because they’ve been introduced to physics as freshman, they don’t seem to think it’s scary.</p>
<p>The nature of the typical physics test, a series of problems solved using math concepts, tends to spread out the grade distribution. Kids who can visualize the problem end up with high As, and kids who struggle can fail miserably. My son got 100% on his midterm; his friend, a good student otherwise, got 19%. Other sciences, heavy on multiple choice type tests, compress the range of scores between top and bottom students in the class.</p>
<p>Regarding lousy physics teachers, I recently had a conversation with a mom whose daughter is struggling in the same physics class with my D. She was complaining how terrible the teacher is, how poorly he explains things, how he never answers questions directly. My daughter, who happens to “get it” and has a high A, says exactly the opposite about him, says he gets right to the heart of the matter and explains it perfectly. She considers him one of the best teachers she has had.</p>
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<p>That’s the thought at D’s HS also. She’s basically decided not to take it, though she enjoyed and did well in “pre-AP” Bio.</p>
<p>Physics is taken along with math in most cases at her HS, either Alg II or Pre-Calc, then if the latter want, Physics II (like C-mech) which is taken with or after AP Calc. As a matter of fact I think there are more physics courses than any other science at her school. Astonomy and Physics, Alg 2 and physics, Pre-Calc and Physics, just plain old Physics, and Physics 2. </p>
<p>The differences are a bit of a mystery to me because, like Pizzagirl, I was more interested in other courses so never took it.</p>
<p>I agree with others that fear of physics is closely related to fear of math, but it’s just that physics isn’t required to graduate, but math is. There are a lot of posts asking if calculus is necessary also.</p>
<p>Somewhat similar to massmomm’s situation–my younger daughter’s private HS has ALL freshmen enrolled in Physics. The progression is then Chem for sophomores and Bio for juniors. It’s the complete reverse of most public schools.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s been a very effective science track, at least for this particular population. A lot of ninth graders don’t have the math skills or problem-solving ability required to really grasp all the concepts and do well–the few who love Physics return to it for the AP course in their senior year, with Calculus AB already mastered. The weaker math students just look back and shudder that they ever had to go through it. </p>
<p>Honestly, GPA/transcript-wise, I get the impression that the school looked at it very strategically: they figured that a bad grade in a Freshman course is far less damaging than one earned junior or senior year. </p>
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<p>Depends on the state and type of diploma requested. If one wanted a regents HS diploma from NY state even back when I attended, one needed at least 3 years of lab science including physics and successfully pass the physics regents exam. </p>
<p>Only things my HS added was we had to take 1 extra year of science electives if we didn’t take an extra science AP or a sufficiently advanced college-level STEM class at a local 4-year college. </p>
<p>Also, while calculus wasn’t required for graduation even from my public magnet, there was strong peer pressure among elite U contender students in the better local public HSs and moreso, public magnets like the one I attended to complete it before graduating HS to demonstrate one’s intellectual/academic bonafides. There was a pervasive perception among many students in this group along with some parents, HS teachers, and STEM college Profs that calculus was a good way to separate out the “genuinely intelligent students” from everyone else. </p>
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<p>Students asking about skipping the fourth year of high school English seem to be less common, probably because it is usually a high school graduation requirement and a requirement for baseline eligibility for frosh admission at most colleges and universities. So even if they fear taking more English courses, they know that they have to no matter what.</p>
<p>The one that students often do not ask about but get tripped up by is the high school art course requirement at California and South Dakota public universities.</p>
<p>For the honors track kids in our high school typical progress is:
High school bio (8), Honors Chem (9), AP Physics B (10) AP Bio (11), another AP science for many, another AP in a an area of interest for others. So nearly all students who are applying to top colleges will have a solid physics course and some will have two. My younger son had scheduling issues and took regular physics in 10th grade and AP Physics C as a senior (and he was my non-math, non-science kid - I think he ended up with some sort of B in the AP physics class.) My older son took high school chem one summer, so he took all three AP sciences - but he’s my math guy.</p>
<p>The high school at which I am student teaching requires every junior to take physics (every sophomore takes chemistry, too). It’s your typical suburban high school, not a magnet. So far, I don’t see a lot of fear because it’s expected/required of every student.</p>
<p>“Also, while calculus wasn’t required for graduation even from my public magnet, there was strong peer pressure among elite U contender students in the better local public HSs and moreso, public magnets like the one I attended to complete it before graduating HS to demonstrate one’s intellectual/academic bonafides.”</p>
<p>I don’t think there was ever any situation you were ever in where you <em>didn’t</em> perceive there to be strong peer pressure to demonstrate some sort of bona fides.</p>
<p>At my son’s high school, physics is definitely feared, because many students are not confident in their mathematical skills. My son has six kids in his AP Physics B. He also has a new teacher, but she is just outstanding. Taught at the college level. Really works well with the kids. So, maybe this could be the start of something good.</p>
<p>The physics teacher at my D’s school is excellent. He tells the students the year before that this class (AP Physics Mechanics/Electricity) is not required to graduate, it is not needed unless you plan to go into engineering or the medical field. It is a difficult class. Yet, he has two sections, so there must not be too much fear. The regular physics class is much easier and no one fears it, as far as I know. </p>
<p>In Ohio, you need a physics class if you want to graduate with an honors diploma. </p>
<p>Eons ago (before APs were available) my HS had an integrated science program- 4 years of science gave me 1.5 Chemistry, 1.5 Physics and 1 Biology credits. I went on to an Honors degree in Chemistry. I disagree that Chemistry is mostly memorization- my school did an excellent job of teaching problem solving. What memorization usually is is learning a new vocabulary (and in my day Biology was more just memory than now). By the time most student take physics they will have learned more vocabulary (there is a lot of overlap- eg physical chemistry) and not need to spend their time with that. I have never liked physics despite doing well in it. Also took enough college math to know which types of that I like. </p>
<p>Some students may not fear physics but just not enjoy it. Doing well doesn’t mean liking something- the two can be independent. Also, calculus based physics offered in college was a lot more interesting as one could derive formulas instead of just memorizing them (think the speed/acceleration relationship).</p>
<p>Depends on the kid. Mine took AP Physics AB and then AP Physics C. He missed a lot of school, so was largely self-taught. He preferred it over chem and bio (which he took honors but NOT AP), and became an EE. He also took AP Calc AB and both AP Comp Sci courses. </p>
<p>My other kiddo never took calc or physics but did take HS chem and bio. She majored in cinema. </p>
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<p>My sons also took Physics as freshman. Sophomore year they took Chem and Junior year was Bio. Because Physics is usually at the end of the sequence students assume it’s the hardest.</p>
<p>Personally, I took physics as a HS SR. Never understood it or calc well. Took calc again as a college fresh before giving up on higher level math. </p>