<p>My kids' school has an odd policy on AP exams that created a difficult situation this spring. I have twins who just finished their junior year and each took five AP classes. The majority of the students in these classes with them were seniors. Because they were mostly seniors, the school decided this year that their policy would be no final exams for AP classes. The problem was that in early April, the teachers started focusing heavily on preparation for the AP exams and many seniors simply tuned out. There was suddently tremendous peer pressure to skip the AP exam. On the one hand, they could work through extra homework every night OR they could skip the homework and nap through class.</p>
<p>The reason for the change in policy was that previously only students who took the AP exam would be excused from taking the Final. However, the result of this was that students paid the $90 for the AP exam in order to avoid the Final but did nothing to prepare for the AP. These students simply did not report their AP scores to the colleges and essentially no record exists of their two month vacation. However, this destroyed the school's statistics on AP performance so they insisted on changing the policy.</p>
<p>It seems to me that it is far more equitable to simply require that everyone take the Final, whether or not they take the AP. While this would mean that some students would have a double burden - even if they are seniors! - but it would also mean that everyone would have their performance recorded in their transcript.</p>
<p>How do other schools address this situation?</p>
<p>My school had us take finals and the AP. We actually didn’t do AP prep that I can remember in any of my APs (8), and scored in the top 20 nation-wide for a while (we dropped out the last couple of years, no idea what happened). If the school treats it just as curriculum you were supposed to learn for the curriculum anyway (as it SHOULD), then there’s no big deal at all.</p>
<p>At our school, each class has both a final and the AP classes. Finals are scheduled at teh end of the school year. Now for classes that are primarily seniors (AP Calculus, AP Literature, the finals are actually given the week following AP and the tests are similar to the exams so sudents don’t need to study further. For mixed age classes, the final is at the regularly scheduled time in June, but it also covers additional material that is covered that is not on the AP exams.</p>
<p>My school requires everyone to take the final. The final is usually a mock AP, given around the same time as the AP exam. For example, my APUSH final was a mock AP the day before the AP exam. I see no reason to excuse kids, and I’m generally annoyed by schools who give kids excuses to avoid finals. That’s just a recipe for grade inflation. </p>
<p>After the AP exam we have about 3 weeks left. Generally we do a project in each AP class. In APUSH we had to create a DBQ and write it, in bio we dissected a fetal pig and then had a practical, in stats we had to collect data and create a report about it, in psych there was an essay about a psychological disorder of a TV or movie character, etc.</p>
<p>My daughter’s school had everyone take the final, BUT the final was given before finals week, so essentially she was home free once final week started. She was a junior taking AP classes that had a high percentage of seniors.</p>
<p>Ours have both finals and AP tests too, APs in May and finals now. Some classes gave the final right after the AP test (I guess this encouraged studying for the AP but not the burden of studying again) and have been doing projects (in psych) or reading additional books (English language) or broad- time-span projects (US history)- but two of the three were all juniors. Once they’ve taught the AP exam material they really are done. The kids have watched some movies too, of course but they’ve tried to tie them in to the course. They saw Forrest Gump in APUSH for instance, which does sort of cover the American cultural themes over a good length of time.</p>
<p>A solution that seemed equitable at my daughter’s school was to make the final optional for students who had taken the AP exam.</p>
<p>Most students did not take the final – which relieved them of the additional burden of studying for it in addition to studying for the far more important AP exam. However, the final was available for those students who had borderline grades in the course and wanted an opportunity to take the final in the hope of bringing their grades up.</p>
<p>If you take the AP class you are required to take the AP exam. There is no correlation to your grade or final. As Jr’s and Srs you are however exempt from the final exam if you have an A all four quarters. Personally, I think this is equitable and a decent reward for consistent hard work all year. </p>
<p>Where my kids school looses me is making kids exempt from finals in any class they are given a state competency exam that year and pass. If they get pass-advanced they get a 100 on their final. That can make a huge difference as it’s worth 20% of the second semester grade. The bar is set so low for the state competency exams that the pass rate is overwhelming. This flies even for AP classes. For instance my son had a state exam in World History this year. He’s in AP so the exam was easy and he got a near perfect score. Automatic 100% on his AP final. Seriously?!?</p>
<p>First of all, seniors at my high school don’t take final exams, period.</p>
<p>My AP classes before senior year always just gave BS finals. AP Calc was the teacher’s algebra 2 honors final exam, APUSH was the teacher’s honors US history final exam, etc. That sort of thing.</p>
<p>Blueiguana, this is exactly the sort of grade inflation that bothers me. If they got an A all four quarters they should be able to ace the final. A state competency exam is in no way indicative of the knowledge required for an A in a course. Ugh.</p>
<p>I thought that the AP rank had to do with the number of students that actually took a test, and nothing about how many passed it. That is how it used to be. Did they change that???</p>
<p>It is a double edge sword, I must admit. Here, if you take the AP exam, you do not have to take the final. But you CAN take the final if you need to bring your grade up. Usually it is a very watered down AP exam that all students can pass fairly easily. </p>
<p>If you choose to take the final, but not the AP exam, it is usually a pretty hard exam. This is to encourage students to take the AP exam.</p>
<p>Alwaysleah,
Please understand that this policy reflects the teachers not wanting to give and grade finals. They are very clear on this. Parents are not in favor of the exemptions given for state exams.</p>
<p>blueiguana - thank you for touching the third rail of education! I believe that our school decided to eliminate all Finals for AP classes instead of requiring all students to take them simply in order to mollify the teachers. Too often the “discussion” will be about what is best for the students (learning material through the end of the school year and demonstrating mastery on an accountable examination), but the deciding factors will be what is best for the school (protecting published AP score averages) and what is best for the faculty (less work motivating seniors and grading exams).</p>
<p>Our school handles finals for AP’s just like alwaysleah’s school, which seems to make the most sense. The kids need to know all of the material by the May AP test date, so the teachers give them a mock one a week or less before the actual one, and that serves as the final. Then the last month of school is spent doing special projects, labs, research papers, etc.</p>
<p>Our school district has changed its policy over the years. In my DD’s time (8 yrs ago), an incentive was used: students who got a 4 or 5 on the AP test would get an A in the course. (ie grades were changed when AP scores became available). I’m not sure i approve of this method as a 3-hr test should not trump a half-year of schoolwork. Her classes were tough, and, in one case, this policy resulted in a significant improvement in the grade she received.</p>
<p>They later abolished that policy. Last year, when my son took his first AP test, the policy in that course was that students who chose not to take the AP test were required to take a final in the class on the same day. In fact, the school newsletter warned that in-school finals will likely be harder than the AP. So, as you say, a student would have significant incentive to pay the 90 bucks to avoid that (vouchers provided for low-income kids, of course).</p>
<p>This year, my son took 3 AP courses. While the teachers in those classes could have used the approach above, all three required every student to take an in-class final prior to the AP exam date, whether or not the student planned on taking the AP exam. I think their motivation was that this would force kids to prepare for the AP test. The only problem was that, with finals scheduled immediately ahead of the AP exams, it made it very difficult to arrange an effective study schedule for the AP exams. The class that had the latest AP test scheduled a final on the Monday of AP week. Whereas it would have been nice for my son to be able to study over the weekend for his first AP test, he had to spend a significant amount of time studying for the final. Good thing we didn’t schedule any SAT exams on that weekend!</p>
<p>I think it would be a good idea for all the AP students to take a final. In our case, it would have been preferable for the final to be scheduled after the AP exams. </p>
<p>What I DO know is that, at least for my son, it has been hard to remain fully engaged in school because it feels like the school year ended in May. Unfortunately for him, his APUSH teacher assigned a major research paper immediately following the exam. Apparently, a different APUSH class is doing an art project. Ouch!</p>
<p>At my S’s school, seniors who take AP exams are exempt from finals. My son took AP classes as a sophomore and this year as a junior. So even though the majority of students are seniors, the underclassmen has to take finals. Seniors graduation and the end of AP tests are some what on the same time period, there are two to three more weeks of class for the rest. Some teachers went beyond what AP curriculum required in this time period. His AP USH teacher this year has assigned them a book to read- ALL THE KINGS MEN and spent the rest of the two and a half week on this book. </p>
<p>The school in which I teach- IB Classes- reviews are also assignments-classwork, homework, quiz etc…in the last two weeks before IB exams. So there is motivation for seniors to work. If they choose to blow it off- their fourth quarter grade gets effected. My school pays for IB tests so they all take it. Seniors are exempt from finals as well.</p>
<p>Seniors at our school are exempt from finals but AP tests have nothing to do with class grades and those that want to take the AP test do so and those that do not, don’t. By senior year AP testing time kids have committed to colleges and know if the AP tests are going to be of benefit or not, usually not, so a lot of seniors don’t take the AP tests. There also isn’t a lot of mixing of grades in the AP classes, juniors take the AP classes that other juniors take, seniors take the AP classes that other seniors take, sophomores take the AP classes that sophomores take. There are enough sections of each AP class that they can do that though too. Finals are about a month after AP testing in our school too so that helps some.</p>
<p>Since APs are in May, no one really wants to do finals in June. Usually the course will have a practice AP/final before the AP and projects or play after the AP. (AP Physics C mostly played ping pong and watched Star Wars movies, AP Bio actually had real work.) APUSH since it’s taken by juniors and is also a Regents course, prepared for the Regents after the AP, which mostly consisted of learning to read trick questions and a few of the wrong answers. Apparently there are questions which you have to answer with the wrong answer to be marked correctly. Needless to say, the level of the class went down considerably. AP Econ, did the NYS Gov requirement work after the AP, while AP Gov did the NYS Econ requirement. Students generally take the APs reasonably seriously and they are required to take them.</p>
<p>The old policy up until this year was that in any AP class for a student taking the AP test there is no final. Instead, the time between the final and the end of the year involves a fairly large project which is used as the final grade on their report card (for example - the AP Bio kids dissect a cat). </p>
<p>There is also a policy that for seniors only - any student with an A in the class is exempt from taking a final (this applies for any full year class - AP or not). The AP score is not considered in the class grade (since it comes in too late to be included on the report card anyway).</p>
<p>The school felt that too many seniors with A’s in AP classes who knew that their college would not give them AP credit, were not taking the AP test and because of the A not having to take a final in that class either. (Although, they would have been required to do the final project). SO, this year the change was that a senior in an AP class had to either take the actual AP test or take an equivalent test given by the teacher which would count as a final grade even if they have an A in the class. </p>
<p>I think this approach will backfire. Lots of seniors who would have skipped the test were forced to take it instead. However, knowing that the score counted for nothing (since their college would not give them credit for it), they did not study for the tests. Paying $90 to take a test that counted for nothing was better than taking a final which would count towards your class grade and therefore you would have to study for. So, although the number of test takers went up, I wonder if the scores will go down.</p>
<p>At my school, if you took the AP exam, you didn’t have to take the final. Depending on the class, after the AP exam you did a paper, a project, or some prep for the following course. </p>
<p>The kids who wasted $90 are idiots and their parents should have done something because it is likely their parents losing a few grand so that the kid can retake that course in college.</p>