Yes, it’s required and I agree with @bjkmom
If a student wants to pad there transcript with AP classes they should be willing to take the exam.
I don’t see it as “padding” their transcript. Theyre taking the most challenging courses possible with AP and have to do well in that course regardless of taking the exam. Sure, it’s great for the student to take it and pass to gain college credit, but I’m sure the colleges are fine if they don’t take the tests and have to pay for those credits.
No, not all colleges are fine with it. Some view not taking the test as academic dishonesty, by misrepresenting your academic courseloads. Either you fulfill the requirements of the AP course, as set forth by the college board, or you don’t. And the college board is a non profit, so it really isn’t about getting rich on fees. You, and they, would want to know if the kids at the school were getting 1 and 2 on the test-it means the course really isn’t the AP it was meant to be.
At my daughters’ public high school, you could skip the final exam in the class if you took the AP exam. Otherwise, you had to take it. Each exam was around $100.
“No, not all colleges are fine with it. Some view not taking the test as academic dishonesty, by misrepresenting your academic courseloads.”
Sorry, but if that’s the case, that is ridiculous. What colleges are you referring to? @roycroftmom
Is taking the AP exam part of AP course requirements? You do not need to AP courses to take exams. D1 took a few without taking the course and received 4-5.
My SD does require kids to take the AP exam if they take the class. This is fully disclosed up front before you register for the class. I believe that there is cost subsidization available if you qualify for free or reduced lunch, but I have not explored this formally. Six years ago, I paid close to $700 for the exams my middle son was taking. I am not sure what happens if you don’t take the exam. My SD also heavily discourages self-study for the tests and I have never heard of a single student here taking an exam without taking the class.
No, DD’s catholic high school did not require the AP test but, like @oldfort, if a student didn’t take the AP, they had to take a final exam. AP test didn’t count towards the grade, but the final did. The vast majority of students took the AP test.
I am not aware of a single college that equates not taking the exam with academic dishonesty, but I will be very happy (and shocked) to be proven wrong.
To answer the OP, no, my HS did not require AP exams, and since courses are not weighted, it’s not like the school could retroactively change the transcript to remove the AP designation. At the teacher’s discretion, those taking AP exams are exempt from the final.
Princeton, for one, Suzy. If you didn’t want to take the exam, don’t take the course. Otherwise why don’t we simply call all courses AP and give everyone a grade bump-the deficiencies won’t show up on the untaken exams anyway. Actually, I know of one urban school that does that.
Yes, and they have to pay for the exams in September or get removed from the class. My current senior took 11 in all. This just started this year, in the past they chose to take the exams or not. Plus, they still need to take finals in June.
Yes. You are required to take the AP Exam, unless you want to lose the AP GPA boost. Also, our school pays for the exams, so it does not cost us anything.
Yes. Although the score is not counted toward the grade, they’re considered the final exam for the class so if you don’t take the test you missed taking final exam and that counts against your grade. However, the school district does pay for all AP tests. I didn’t realize many schools didn’t until I read that on CC.
At D20’s public school, you are required to take the AP exam if you want the weighted credit. If you take the AP exam, you are excused from the final exam. Your AP test score in no way reflects your final grade in the class, even if you get a 1 or 2 on the exam. You are allowed to skip the AP exam, take the class final, and not receive the weighted credit. The clincher here is that the final is usually very similar to the AP test so you might as well take it. I don’t know if the school, the district or the state pays for the costs of the tests, but families don’t.
Edited: The teachers grade much harder than the AP exam. There really is very little incentive NOT to take the exam.
I just read Princeton’s admission policy, http://www.princeton.edu/pub/ap//, it doesn’t say anything about having to take the AP exam. It just says one wouldn’t get advance standing if AP exam is not taken.
It came up in another thread, oldfort, when an applicant called the admissions office to inform them he wasn’t going to take the test, though the course was in his application. That was their response.
My kids’ school did not weigh AP courses. Some of their courses were probably at a more advanced level than AP and that’s why D1 was able to take some AP exams without actually taking the courses.
In our district the kids are also officially required to take the AP exam if they sign up for an AP course. They do lay out the costs upfront at least. I believe any child who is eligible for free/reduced lunch automatically receives financial assistance but otherwise, yep, it’s like $90 a pop. We don’t have much alternative to APs either in terms of an advanced track, so it’s a cost we’re pretty much stuck with. Pretty nice racket the College Board has there!
I think saying that colleges view not taking the exam as “dishonesty” is a pretty big overstatement. I do think some schools might use AP exam results as a check against grade inflation at a school though. If kids from a school are consistently getting A grades in courses while getting 1’s and 2’s (or not taking) the corresponding AP exam, a college might conclude that there is significant grade inflation at that high school. Or at least so I have heard - who knows whether it’s true or not. And that would only be true for AP’s taken prior to senior year that colleges would see at application time.
ETA: As it happened, my D was able to get some placement at her current college for a couple of the 9 AP exams she had taken by the time she left HS. The real value would have come if she had gone to state school - she would have gotten credit for all of them and entered as a sophomore. So the value really depends on the college you wind up at. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to leave the options open!
No. Our son didn’t take one because he knew that his degree required him to take that class in college so he concentrated on others. School didn’t mind.
As of 10 or so years ago our public HS stopped offering AP classes. The school developed it’s.own Advanced Topic classes (which are typically more.in depth on certain topics and may not cover the entire.AP curriculum.) Students may take AP exams but are.not required to do so.