<p>My school required us to take an AP test for every AP class we were in. i took AP bio and got a 5, but never took anatomy. there really wasn't much on there anyway. I would just get a practice book for the AP (princeton review is good.)</p>
<p>Our county/district pays for the AP exams. There's never a consideration that you don't take the test. They are all offered at the school; all kids in the class go take it together. Students at the beginning of a year, with their parents, sign an AP contract, which says that they understand that there is an exam, and they will be taking the exam. Besides, for us, we figure why not ... it only keeps options open. D, who will have taken 11 classes/exams before graduation, knows that she'll have some flexibility with college scheduling. As she's going into chemical engineering, she'll most likely retake chemistry and physics. However, she probably won't retake the biology. We're debating what level of calculus she'll start in. However, all those other gen eds ... english, history, etc., which she doesn't want to have to take in college, she'll skip. </p>
<p>BTW, addressing the OP. D got an A in AP biology in 9th grade and a 5 on the exam; she did not have chemistry or anatomy and physiology. In fact, she's taking honors anatomy/phys as a senior. It's her blow-off course.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>At our HS, students do not get a weighted grade in the AP class if they do not take the test. This policy was instituted last academic year and resulted in a much higher level of test taking, especially for the sophomore and juniors taking AP classes. Results were mixed for the seniors, where it made less difference.</p>
<p>"BTW --what exactly is the problem with not taking the AP exam if the course grade is an A and the student's score's on previous AP exams were 5's?"</p>
<p>For starters, 5's on previous AP exams are not an indicator that a 5 will be received on any future exam. Maybe the math whiz isn't quite as strong in history (like my S, who got a 4 on the AP Euro History exam and was pleased with it.) Also, since HS standards may vary widely in the grading department, an 5 on the AP test itself informs the Ad Comm much more about the grade received in the class, since the AP exam will serve to norm any HS grading issues.</p>
<p>Just FYI, this link was in another thread. I found it interesting:</p>
<p>You don't need A&P or APChem to get a 5 on AP Bio test.</p>
<p>Many schools are trying to pressure kids into taking the test because HS ranking are based on % of students taking AP tests (regardless of how well they score, I think...)</p>
<p>YouDon'tSay, thanks, that's a fascinating link. I would love to see historical (as in decades) trends on the scoring. I'm looking at the California state-specific report, which is also interesting reading.</p>
<p>At my son's school if you didn't take the test then you flunked the course (public school). The school used to pay the parents back if they got a score of a 4 or 5, but that ended before my kids were able to do AP classes.</p>
<p>At our school the kids can take the test or not take the test. There is a cost that the students/parents pay. My kids have taken the tests, but not reportied the scores. For my oldest it did not exempt him from taking any college classes so we did not report. For #2, we will again wait until his college choice is finalized, then see if there is any advantage to reporting or not. Clearly the colleges can see on the transcript (or at least at our school) the AP classes. The AP branded test scores are not part of the transcript. Our school does not weight classes so there is no advantage or disadvantage from the high school perspective to taking the test or not taking the test. The kids that take the branded AP test are exempt from the "teacher" exam. From my kids' perspective they still have to take a test, might as well take the branded test. While I have some moral opposition to the branded + cost aspects of public high school classes, I pay the fees and grit my teeth.</p>
<p>Ds school didn't offer AP bio- she took bio freshman year & marine bio, soph. ( Marine bio especially was a very challenging class- but bio was only pre-req)</p>
<p>Even though she is a bio major- her math wasn't at grade level till junior year, when she took chem and was then eligible to take AP chem senior year ( she got an A in chem!!), but she took plain physics instead, because the AP chem teacher was reputed to be very dry.</p>
<p>She did take 4 AP classes in high school, she took them because they were the most challenging level, not because she wanted to get college credit.</p>
<p>She didn't take the test for her 10th grade AP class, but in later years it was required to take the AP class- which I did not appreciate, since neither the school or district subsidized it for students except those who were FRL.</p>
<p>Good point about taking it and not reporting a "bad" score. We'll plead poverty as ds has six AP courses this year.</p>
<p>Not taking exam kind of defeat purpose of taking AP class which is to get credits in college paying much less than the cost of class in college. In terms of the difficulty level, it more depends on school than AP vs Regular class. My D indicated that she was prepared much better for college Chem after Honors Chem than others after AP (AP was not offered in her HS), which resulted in her being offered a job as a Supplemental Instructor for Chem. prof.</p>
<p>Our HS encourages kids to take the test but doesn't require it. There is no weighting of grades, so there is nothing to hold over their heads. Different teachers encourage it to different degrees. They will also help pay for it if necessary. Last year S took 5 AP exams (for a total of 8), and the school paid for it. I don't think that he has any intention of actually using any of his potential credits, but it's nice to have it in your pocket, just in case. It was his choice to take the exams...I don't think he ever considered not doing so.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not taking exam kind of defeat purpose of taking AP class which is to get credits in college paying much less than the cost of class in college.
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</p>
<p>For my S, the purpose of taking AP classes was to take the most interesting and challenging classes available, usually taught by the best teachers, with the brightest and most motivated fellow students. Getting cheap college credits never entered his mind.</p>
<p>Our family's thinking is like Consolation's.</p>
<p>My daughter did not take one of the histories (US) and the world lit. She took bio, chem, calc, stats, spanish, and another history. She did not take the other two because she is not strong on writing timed essays. Her US history teacher thought she would do ok but she didn't feel confident.</p>
<p>For us the point in taking AP is not for the potential credits. We wanted her to take the hardest classes available to her. She needs a challenge or she gets bored.</p>
<p>Her college says that they accept credits. However she is retaking bio and chem this year. My feeling is that since she took them in grades 10 and 11, they did not feel she was really primed and ready to go. Also the lab hours at her high school where much shorter. Fair enough.</p>
<p>Her calc score resulted being placed in a higher math but I don't know if they gave her credit. I haven't bothered to check. The high school APs were about making sure she had work that was hard enough, not about getting ahead.</p>
<p>Our thinking also is like consolation's -- best teachers, good peer group, level most suited to his skills. But, obviously, we didn't think out to the end of the year, hence, all the questions now. Getting college credit is a bonus, not the reason for the class.</p>
<p>Consolation, were AP classes taught by the best teachers with the brightest and most motivated students at D's HS! Best teachers, usually; most motivated students, no. I do think she'll be well prepared for college as a result of her course load and the AP courses
she's chosen, which in my mind is the whole reason for taking an AP.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link with the 2008 distribution of scores. Comp Sci will make Son feel better about the 1 he received (despite an A in the class)....30.2% of test takers received a one, which was by far highest percentage of ones I saw in the dozen or so subjects I clicked on (for example, English Language had 11.9% ones.)</p>
<p>YDS, college credit can be very helpful, especially a science credit for humanities majors...</p>
<p>My S chose not to take the math, physics and eng lit AP exams at the end of senior year, because his college does not give any credit for english AP, and my S definitely did not want to start in the higher level calc and physics classes. He is very happy with his decision. </p>
<p>His HS did not require the test, and also does not pay for the tests. My S took 4 other AP exams, two 4's and two 5's, and got no college credit for them. He attends Stanford, and they ONLY offer credit for math, physics, chem and foreign languages(with 5's required in lang). </p>
<p>He did NOT take the classes primarily to get college credit. First, when you sign up for the classes, you don't know where you will be attending college and what their AP credit policies are. Second, he wanted to maximize his chances for college admissions by taking the most difficult classes offered by his HS. He also needed the challenge of the AP classes to make high school life tolerable.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"BTW --what exactly is the problem with not taking the AP exam if the course grade is an A and the student's score's on previous AP exams were 5's?"</p>
<p>For starters, 5's on previous AP exams are not an indicator that a 5 will be received on any future exam. Maybe the math whiz isn't quite as strong in history (like my S, who got a 4 on the AP Euro History exam and was pleased with it.) Also, since HS standards may vary widely in the grading department, an 5 on the AP test itself informs the Ad Comm much more about the grade received in the class, since the AP exam will serve to norm any HS grading issues.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I went and looked on my S's college's website. Only 8 credit units for APs are given by the college, so piling on AP exam scores has a finite limit for college credits or college class placement. </p>
<p>Also, in my first post I mentioned HS S knew he had been accepted EA, which he found out in December. So, another issue is whether kids need to take the AP exams after they have been accepted at the school they want to attend when they have all the AP credit units the college will accept. </p>
<p>If the student is already accepted and has all the AP credits that the college will recognize, why take more AP tests if the HS class test grade is an A?---Bragging right? Save your money.</p>
<p>My son was forced to take the tests. They counted as his "finals" (and we had to PAY for them even though there was not a choice in the matter - but that is a different issue) He was able to get credit for all but environmental science, so he sat for the test, but just drew pictures in the essay spots and marked all the multiple choice questions A. He got 5's and 4's on every other one, but a 1 on that one.</p>
<p>I was really mad about it. Not only that son completely dissed the teacher (who he argued with the entire semester), but also that he dissed the test. It prevented him from achieving whatever the highest honor designation was, but at that point it didn't matter anyway, he was already accepted and going to college.</p>