Our public high school does not require students to take the AP test, but some teachers may require students then take a final, there is no consistent policy. AP classes are weighted the same as the highest honors classes (there are multiple honors levels).
D19 is still deciding what tests to take, as she is going to an LAC next year that does not generally give credit for tests, although certain tests can be used for placement (but not many).
I see no reason to take AP exams that will not result in credit at your college. My DS already had more credit than would be allowed to transfer to his college by his senior year. He also could not use any AP that would be considered as part of his major. So why would I shell out money for these exams. Also, some people do not test well, so the exams will not result in college credit. Obviously, our school does not require AP testing. My DS was told by his AP physics teacher not to take the exam because he was only taking AP Physics 1 as AP Physics 2 would not fit in his schedule. The teacher said those who didn’t take both usually did not “pass”. So why take AP’s if you are not planning on taking the test – the material is more rigorous than the regular classes and the students tend to be motivated and serious. My son had AP Micro & Macro Econ, he could not use AP credit for the college equivalent classes because they are part of his major. However, he got an A in his college Econ class – half of the class got a C or lower. The college my DD is going to will not accept biology AP’s because they do not believe it is equivalent to their intro biology class. There may have been others that they would not accept, but that was the example given. The professor who was going over the college’s curriculum requirements really did not like AP or Dual Credit. It was very upsetting to many parents, but I am in agreement that AP and Dual credit is not equivalent to many college courses taught by Ph.D.’s.
Nope. Princeton does not require admitted students to take AP exams for their corresponding courses.
And I was on that thread, and was incredulous then. I filed that under “The student asked the wrong question or the student heard something other than what was said or the person (likely not a FT admissions employee) gave incorrect info.” Colleges may certainly “prefer” certain things, but that does not mean that they will always get it. I also filed it under “just because it’s on the internet does not make it true.” I would posit that precisely zero applicants have had acceptances rescinded for not taking an AP exam. YMMV.
To me it makes no sense not to take the test other than for financial reasons. If you’re fearful of getting a low test score, don’t take the AP class.
As a additional bonus/twist, at my kid’s HS, the teachers in AP Bio/Chem/Physics C would give you a retroactive letter grade boost if you got a 5. So if you got any type of B in AP Chem for example, the grade would be changed to A-.
If you’re a senior, and the college you will be attending does not give credit/placement for the exam or if you’ve maxed out your AP credits, then I see no reason to take the exam.
AP exams at my kids’ high school are not required.
My view is this: taking an AP course and taking an AP exam are separate endeavors. Nothing on the College Board site indicates that an officially approved AP course must require students to take the AP exam. Accordingly, requiring students to take the AP exam is purely a high school decision. The course is for high school credit while the AP exam is for college credit.
As a practical matter, the AP exam scores cannot be part of the course grade for seniors. Final transcripts are due at many colleges prior to the score release date.
Our school requires kids to take the AP exam, and if they don’t, they lose the AP credit. Between S19 and D20, we paid $1000 in AP test fees just for this 18-19 school year.
My D19 said it is common for students at her school to sign up and pay for the tests and then when they find out where they are going to college (which of course is after the AP deadline) they just skip or not study for the tests that don’t count. My daughter is taking 7 AP classes with Physics being 1 &2 and Poly Sci and Econ each being a semester each. I told her she had to take all the tests but could choose to only study for the ones that will benefit her.
Our high school does not require the test. S22 is in 1 AP now and if he opts not to take the AP test, he must take the final exam in the class. If he takes the AP test, the final is optional.
It varied by course. But when it was required, the thought process was that it was difficult to teach to a class if half the kids weren’t invested in mastering the material and half were. And there were typically other alternatives that were not AP classes so a student didn’t have to take an AP class to see the material.
Though the extra AP scores could become useful if the student transfers to a different college.
Another reason some may have for not taking an AP test: pre-med students who intend to repeat the introductory course in college may prefer not to have AP credit that may require them to mark the college course as a “repeat” on the medical school application (looks like grade grubbing to some medical schools). This may be particularly relevant to AP physics 1 and 2, where there often is not the option to substitute a more advanced physics course.
UC Berkeley wants to know if you have not taken any AP exams that you had listed on the application. (under conditions of admissions)
Yes, my child’s high school requires you to take the test if you take an AP course.
I would guess that only a small percentage of schools would not give credit, so that’s more of an one-off. And as someone else pointed out, if one transfers to a different school, those AP credits could be used. Once again, $100 and a couple of hours off of your school day is a small price to pay to take tests that could save you thousands.
As for Berkeley, they eventually do take off the reminder nags about turning in your test scores if you didn’t take the test, but it takes a couple of months.
Our (public) high school does not require students in AP classes to take the AP exams - it is encouraged, but otherwise completely optional. All students take the final exam regardless of whether or not you took the AP test. Grades are in no way related to AP test scores, nor are they retroactively altered based on AP test results. Our GPA boost is the same for both honors and AP classes, so taking a pass on the AP exam has no effect on that either.
If you want to take an AP exam but either you can’t afford it or don’t want to pay for it, our school offers an arrangement where the student works a certain number of hours for the school and in turn the school will pay for the test. No free rides on the APs, but they do pay for one SAT sitting for everyone.
“It’s clear that the reason they make the kids take the exams is produce good stats for the district. It has nothing to do with any benefit to the individual students.”
At $90-$142 a test, making kids take an expensive test that they don’t want to take, aren’t going to study for, and don’t have to report to colleges is an expensive way for the school to make itself look or feel good. It appears the carrots (“no finals”, auto A for a 4 or 5) or the stick (“no GPA booster”) are in place to make sure they get bang for their bucks. Our school profile doesn’t even note the percentage of kids who took exams. It does give the percentage of students who earned a 3 or higher (a vast majority). Make exams mandatory and, without the carrots or sticks, that percentage would sink.
In my kid’s very good public school there is no requirement to take the AP test. The idea is ridiculous and discriminatory - a public school cannot charge extra money for more rigorous courses, which would be the case if they required students to pay for an AP test as requirement for taking an AP course.
The school provides the same weighting for an AP course whether a student takes the test or not, which is the same weighting as an honors course. You take the AP test if you want to use it to replace a college course, otherwise it’s a waste of $92.
@bjkmom Some kids take APs because they are the most challenging and interesting courses, not necessarily to pad their transcript . It really depends on how well they are taught. Others, such as APUSh , are excellent preparation for critical reading on the SAT.
@roycroftmom that is absolutely ridiculous that a school would hold not taking an exam against a kid & this is the first I’ve ever heard of that (my 3rd is now a ha senior). Taking an ap class is supposed to be rigorous and at our school there is no comparison between honors & so they are so different. Why would any school not allow a student to challenge themselves with a tougher course without penalizing them.
To answer the op our public school does not require the student to take an ap test & does not penalize the student for not taking it. Most ap classes don’t have a final but those that do give the students the opportunity to take the ap test or final.
Further, our school allows those in the honors to take the ap test. For instance my daughter is in Spanish honors & will take the ap test. My son took ap Spanish & although he was a fluent speaker & top of the class he felt the class didn’t correlate to the exam. Those he tutored in honors were more prepared for it. So she opted for this course of action.
Lastly the test cost $90 ea but if you receive free lunch the cost is $5 ea the schools scholarship fund pays the balance. Some kids not on free lunch with special circumstances can also receive the reduced rate.
how do you figure a $90 test to be expensive when a class at a private school can easily cost thousands of dollars?
DS20’s public high school does not require taking AP tests after the AP class - they get GPA boost based on in-class test scores. No extra credit for AP test score. This is actually worse - his school teachers are more strict in giving high grades. There is another high school in the same district where teachers boost the grade based on AP test perf (score a 5 your gpa is boosted to A+). Kids in our school feel that its high unfair - since in the same school district kids going to other school get much better GPA’s. Well it is what it is…but imho…high school and its associated courses/grading/future-college-admission process in US is unnecessarily too complex.