<p>Our school has a special program which includes an honors physics class for freshmen concurrently enrolled in algebra 2. Many of the students later take AP Physics B and do quite well. With the new change to AP Physics 1 and 2, the school is saying that they won't be able to offer it as Physics 1 because they can't offer an AP class to freshmen. They say the reason is that colleges wouldn't accept it if it's done freshman year. This was the first I've heard of such a policy. Does anyone know if there are any issues with colleges accepting AP credits earned in freshman year, or any other rules about this (eg.state or accreditation rules?)</p>
<p>In our school district it is not at all unusual for students to take AP courses their freshman year.</p>
<p>That said, it is entirely possible that your school district has a different policy about AP courses, and formally restricts them to 10th grade and up. If that is their policy, and you want it changed, you need to work with them on it.</p>
<p>My guess is that this isn’t an AP or not AP issue, but rather a curriculum issue followed by a communicating-well-with-parents issue. The physics class that students previously had been able to take in 9th grade almost certainly is not be fully equivalent to the new AP Physics 1, it is quite likely that the teachers are not able to cram the additional material into that course. In order to cover the material of AP Physics 1, they probably need to design a completely new course which probably isn’t readily compatible with the current Algebra 2, and will require a new/different/revised Math course. For example, if the old AP Physics B required co-registration in pre-Calc, chances are that the new AP Physics 1 would as well.</p>
<p>AP classes can be taken at any time, including summers (eg at gifted programs). Colleges give credit for AP exam scores, not courses taken. For example, a student I know got a 5 on the AP US History exam without taking the course, which exempted him from that as well as the usual sophomore US history course in our district. Needless to say, he was well read. Colleges may give general credit for a score of 3 and specific course credit for higher scores. The difference can mean fulfilling gen ed requirements or prerequisites for a college course. Of course, colleges are not required to accept any AP exam results to give credits from their school. Each school decides what its policy is, there are no state or other rules. Also, even where college credit is given the college intro course may be the course to take as the college version covers a lot more material. AP courses are equivalent to average level colleges’ courses, not those of state flagships or other top schools.</p>
<p>There have been past discussions about AP courses and various district rules. I find it terrible that some schools base course eligibility on grade and not ability to do the work. I also know only the first physics and calculus AP courses are available at many high schools. However, I would not want central control over our kids’ educations. That would dumb down the better systems. Think of “no child left behind”- the converse is no child gets ahead.</p>
<p>It must be the school district’s policy. It’s not a national policy, and it doesn’t seem to be a policy at most colleges.</p>
<p>My daughter attended a high school where students who would later be in the IB program took AP American Government as freshmen in high school. Most took the AP test, and many got 4s or 5s and got credit/advanced placement for this subject in college.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, our school allows freshmen to take certain AP classes. My daughter did this, and no one said anything about a problem with freshmen in AP classes at that time. There’s not much gatekeeping for AP enrollment, usually students just need to have completed the prerequisites, and sometimes they can even get an exception for that. English and history AP classes are restricted to certain grades because the school doesn’t allow acceleration in those subjects.</p>
<p>The new physics 1 curriculum says it is ok to offer it concurrently with algebra 2, so I am mystified by this situation. The physics class they are currently offering is integrated with the algebra2 class, so they can adjust the math and physics as they like.</p>
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<p>Bunk.</p>
<p>Your instate public may have an issue with Frosh APs, but that is not typical.</p>
<p>My son took AP Comp Sci freshman year and it was accepted by Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>I really don’t understand what the college board is doing with physics. It seemed to me the current arrangement worked pretty well.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the current arrangement and the problem is for schools like ours which have a prerequisite year of physics before physics B, the students end up repeating many topics, but still not covering them in much depth because they don’t have calculus yet. If you are going to spend 2 years in physics I think it does make sense to have a 2 year plan and go over everything once in greater depth. But I also think it doesn’t make sense to spend 2 years in physics before you get calculus. Unfortunately our school says they cannot offer physics C. They have qualified teachers, very good ones actually, but due to budget cuts, the teachers don’t have much prep time, and I think they aren’t willing to prep yet another class. Because of the repetition inherent in the current physics B two year sequence, my daughter has found it too slow-moving and a little frustrating seeing all the bending over backwards to avoid using calculus since she already had that. She wishes she could have taken physics B as a first course; she feels she could have learned it all in one year. She is planning to self-study physics C this spring to supplement what she has been doing in physics B.</p>
<p>“integrated with the Algebra 2” is the key issue. The specific content requirements for the new AP Phiysics 1 probably will not allow for the flexibility the teachers formerly had. Yup. It is a curriculum issue. Stop fretting about it, and move on.</p>
<p>So…are Physics B and C replaced now by Physics 1 and 2? Or are there now 3 AP Physics exams?</p>
<p>Actually it seems there will be FOUR AP Physics courses and exams??</p>
<p>AP Physics B (algebra-based) is being replaced by Physics 1 and Physics 2.</p>
<p>AP Calculus C (calculus-based) remains as is, Mechanics and E & M</p>
<p>That’s a lot of Physics. I wonder if the “B” exam is doable after a junior year physics course that is taught with pre-calc. Sounds like the new Physics 1 would be.</p>
<p>Since Physics 1 and 2 only cover a semester’s worth of college physics each it seems to me high schools could do them as a one year course assuming the exams aren’t scheduled at the same time. That’s not that different from Physics C which used to just have one exam, but now has two. And you have to pay for both GRR. AP Econ also has two exams - our high school only did macro and not micro - or maybe the reverse. </p>
<p>I don’t really approve of APs that take a college semester course and stretch it over a whole year in high school.</p>
<p>My kids took AP Euro freshman year and both have received college credit for their 5 score from 2 universities. Our school distict had some hurdles to jump through to allow them to take the course (moving from out of state had them off cycle for regularly scheduled freshman history) but we eventually prevailed. If you think your student can handle the work, make your case and escalate if roadblocks appear. These policies are so often formed without consideration for highly able students.</p>
<p>Here is how the college board describes the content division between physics 1 and physics 2. They even admit that it’s pretty lightweight. But it is strange that the more difficult physics C is a one year course and the easier physics 1 and 2 is a two year course. And I wonder how many students will take only Physics 1 and miss out on large areas of physics? A lot of students don’t have room in their schedules for two physics classes, and our school seems to be planning to replace their honors physics class (not the one in the integrated program) with Physics 1. </p>
<p>AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based is the equivalent of a first-semester college course in algebra-based physics, but it is designed to be taught over a full academic year to enable AP students to develop deep understanding of the content and to focus on applying their knowledge through inquiry labs. The full year also allows time for inclusion of physics content specified by state standards. The course covers Newtonian mechanics (including rotational dynamics and angular momentum); work, energy, and power; and mechanical waves and sound. It also introduces electric circuits.</p>
<p>AP Physics 2: Algebra-Based is the equivalent of a second-semester college course in algebra-based physics, but it is designed to be taught over a full academic year to enable AP students to develop deep understanding of the content and to focus on applying their knowledge through inquiry labs. The full year also allows time for inclusion of physics content specified by your state standards. The course covers fluid mechanics; thermodynamics; electricity and magnetism; optics; and atomic and nuclear physics</p>
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<p>Some high schools use AP physics B as the honors high school physics course (i.e. does not require a prior physics course in high school, although being in a high enough level in math is a typical prerequisite). They may just have a one year AP physics 1-2 course as a replacement for AP physics B.</p>
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<p>In high school, it really does not make sense to spend more than a year on non-calculus-based physics. Better to just have regular high school physics (PSSC curriculum?) and perhaps an honors option (perhaps AP physics B?).</p>
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<p>Seems unlikely. However, most AP courses that may be offered to typical non-prodigy high school frosh are the light kind, like human geography. Physics B or 1-2 is also kind of a light one, even though it is normally a high school junior or senior level course.</p>
<p>Our high school offered Physics B concurrently with Algebra 2 and kids seemed to do fine. A lot of kids who took it were sophomores who had taken Algebra 1 and high school biology in 8th grade. Forcing kids interested in AP Physics C to do three years of physics in high school seems crazy to me. I think our high school would end up going back to having an honors physics course, so that the STEM kids could still easily take the three major science courses as APs (Bio, Chem, Physics C).</p>
<p>I am wondering what the schools who were teaching physics B without prerequisite will do now. Just teach physics 1? Teach a single year 1 and 2 class?</p>