My daughter is generally a good tester. She made a 32 on the ACT summer after her 9th grade year with no prep. And she had done really well on the PSAT the last few years.
She generally makes really good grades. Two years of As in everything except pre-cal, in which she made a 90 (B). So she is not lacking in knowing how to study in general.
But she has made a 2 on her AP exams for the last two years. Last year in Human Geo and this year in Euro.
After she took Human Geo last year she felt like she had not prepared well for it. But this year for Euro, she felt like she had prepared well and was ready for it, so this score was a shock to her.
She is signed up for 4 AP classes this coming year, so I think we need to figure out a new strategy going into these classes. Would love some tips from other parents on what she should be doing to pass these test.
She had the same teacher for both AP classes so far, so there could be some disconnect between her and the teacher. But she could have the same issue in college so she’s going to have to learn how to overcome something like that. She made a high A in both classes so there something missing in her studying for these actual AP test, not in her performance in the class.
Thanks for you help!
I find that some teachers are better prepared to teach to the test (so to speak). I think my kids teachers were really good at teaching material and testing in class, like the real AP exam. They did multiple choice tests alot and DBQs, FRQs and whatever the other thing is called. I do think alot of it is the teacher, assuming your kid has a good grade and no test anxiety. Given the fact that you said it was the same teacher that taught both, it almost sounds like the teacher in this case. AP human geo is not known to be a hard AP exam. One of the easier. But AP Euro is hard! Hopefully, your daughter will have a different teacher next year AND she should probably study on her own with the AP study/test books that you can get online or at a bookstore 
@LvMyKids2 brings up an important point: did the teacher have them do a lot of DBQ/ FRQ type tests? Sometimes the class grade puts a lot of emphasis on short quizzes, homework, participation, etc., but not so much on essay responses, so there isn’t enough practice on more thematic / longer format problems. Does that apply here?
She said during the year that they did a lot more FRQ practice this year. She felt like the teacher was trying hard this year to get them better prepared, and she tried to do a lot more individual prep also.
@brentwoodmom Moving forward to next year…You can download previous released FRQs from the College Board website for each AP exam. My kids have found it very helpful when preparing for an AP exam to complete the FRQs and then go through the grading rubric answer key.
How did the other kids in her class do on their AP exams? That should give you a picture of how well the teacher teaches the material and prepares the students for what they will encounter on the test.
I don’t know how the other kids did this year, but I know the kids from her class last year did worse than the kids from the other teacher’s class. My understanding was that the teacher realized his classes last year weren’t well prepared and tried to step it up this year.
She also studied a lot more and did multiple practice tests this year. That’s why I’m trying to figure out what we need to change for next year.
My older son is a year ahead of her, and he easily got 5s in these exams without studying nearly as much as she did. He did have different teachers. I just want to help her find the most effective way to prepare going forward.
How did your daughter do on the practice tests? Did she get 2’s? Did she do well on the multiple choice section? It’s possible that the practice free response questions weren’t graded like they would be on the regular AP tests.