I have to agree. If a school’s AP scores are low, I would not blame the academic calendar. Starting after Labor Day still leaves approx 30 weeks of instruction before the AP exams, which not coincidentally, is the length of 2 college semesters at most unis.
While I often say that the plural of anecdote is not data, my HS started after Labor Day, had no summer assignments, and a strong AP track record. YMMV.
We about a month and a half after AP tests before school is out, they don’t publish scores by test, but I remember all my kids’ teachers saying that most students got 4s and 5s. Most AP courses had some summer assignments - reading books, not writing papers. My kids never found it too onerous.
We have about a month of class after AP tests. My kids have had some of their best learning experiences during that time.
Both kids have had building projects in AP Physics. My older son build a rail gun in AP Physics B and there were lots of other cool projects made by other students. Younger son’s AP Physics did model rockets and independent research (books not lab), and he got quite interested in his topic. Older son’s APUSH class did several things including a unit on conspiracy theories and what makes people believe them.
School starts in late August here. No summer AP homework. Diverse school and students get score distributions somewhat better than the national averages, but not that much. Older son didn’t have trouble getting mostly 5s. Younger son will have to work harder, but kids are different.
The skeptic in me is saying these elite high schools might be dropping AP classes so they can check “most rigorous course load possible” for a greater percentage of their enrolled kids. Many parents paying those kind of elite tuition prices every year might expect that courtesy. Honestly, if I was shelling out $30K for a year of high school, I probably would. The smartest of the bunch can always take classes at local colleges, which sets them apart and benefits their college applications not at the expense of their less-inclined classmates.
I’ve read some good arguments on this thread both for and against AP classes, though. Heaven knows DD’s (public) high school has so many, it would be pretty much impossible to get every one of them in. I imagine our high school checks a good number of “most rigorous” boxes anyway.
Not the case. The courses that replace the APs are very rigorous and in most cases more rigorous than APs. They just don’t want to be tied to a fixed curriculum, without flexibility. Many of the elite private schools don’t think APs are rigorous enough or allow for free-form discussion. Also, because so many high school offer so many APs, it’s no longer “different” or exclusive enough for them.