<p>At our school, there is a rule that if you take an AP class, you need to take the AP tests. If for some reason you don't take the AP test, you won't get the extra weighting to your grade for AP.</p>
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At his school, taking anatomy and physiology is recommended with AP Bio to do well on the test.
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<p>Not only unnecessary, but illogical. The bio test is getting more enviro-friendly...a better science double is Bio + AP Enviro since much of the material in the latter course is duplicative of the first.</p>
<p>^^^^ Really? That's great news as he's in APES now.</p>
<p>I never realized the test taking could be optional. I will check with my school. DS wants to take APUSH but he's a horrible major test taker. He gets very nervous and stresses the whole night before. I want him to have the class to show he's pushing himself, etc but it would be nice for him especially if I could say the test isn't required since a lot of schools don't accept them anyway. I am sure my school will require it as they like to boast scores etc as part of their marketing. I had to argue about not putting ACT/SAT scores automatically on their transcripts.</p>
<p>Our school system pays for AP exams so every student who takes an AP class is required to take the exam. If they do not, their final grade is dropped by one letter grade.</p>
<p>Just found out that our state pays $30 per test. Phew. That's more manageable.</p>
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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.
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<p>Why assume an ugly motivation?</p>
<p>Some kids just enjoy the challenge. Some feel that they ought to carry through and "finish" the course. Some want to find out how well they can do. Many will never "brag" about their 5s or use them to avoid taking a broad range of subjects or use them to get out of college early, because, believe it or not, they LIKE LEARNING.</p>
<p>I like the fact that the AP classes are supposedly more challenging than the "normal" curriculum, but two of the "most rigorous" classes according to our school profile are not AP branded .</p>
<p>I'm wondering how adcoms use AP test scores, if at all. There could be all sorts of ways to interpret them, just like when looking at GPA and test scores. High grade and low test score could indicate grade inflation, or it could mean student had one bad day, or the teacher was horrid. Low grade and high test score could mean student got lucky, or it could mean the teacher was a tough grader. Not to mention other variables: was the student in 9th grade or 12th? Was this a subject where the AP grading curve is especially harsh? Is the high school one where most of the students taking the test get at least a 3?</p>
<p>And isn't there something called an AP Scholar or something based on test results? I would think that would look good on apps.</p>
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Many will never...use them to avoid taking a broad range of subjects or use them to get out of college early, because, believe it or not, they LIKE LEARNING.
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<p>If love of learning is the motivation, then the student wouldn't need an AP test score to achieve that goal, she'd just take the course. </p>
<p>At least at my S's college, AP scores don't necessarily allow the student to avoid taking a broad range of subjects, the scores facilitate taking courses in the subject beyond the intro level courses that are satisfied by the AP's.</p>
<p>Nor do the AP's count toward possible early graduation at his school.</p>
<p>I guess you may be right that some people need the test score to measure how well the student did. Hopefully, that person is the one taking the test.</p>
<p>Well, if your child absolutely detest some subject(s) and would like to avoid taking it in college (like US History in my D's case), why not take a test, get an "A" and be done for the rest of your life with something that is a college reguirement. I imagine that college course is harder than AP (so far it has been true for D who is a college sophmore and who had to take bio starting with very first semester despite of having "5" on AP Bio test, which is a common pre-med reguirement). Having taking AP US History in D's case prevented potential problem of her college GPA being lowered because of class that she absolutely does not need or care about. Also, having AP's gave her freedom to have 2 minors in addition to challenging major. Worked very nicely!!</p>
<p>For many schools, especially public schools, the AP designation is just an excuse to give their kids some extra points on their GPA. The exam is not needed and even discouraged.</p>
<p>I say do not give an A unless the student can write a 5 on the exam. 4=B etc. </p>
<p>Any school that gives an AP A to a student that writes a 3 or less is gaming the system.</p>
<p>To follow on BigG's comment, does everyone assume the teachers are teaching to the test only?</p>
<p>At my S's high school (private), they did not teach to the test only.</p>
<p>Not sure what our school district policy is, but the expectation at my d's school is that all take the test. Some colleges really frown on taking an AP without the test as they see it as students going for grade inflation. Policy of the UC schools is that they can only help you, but can't hurt you. Not sure about universities.</p>
<p>My son is a junior at a private high school in DC. He is taking AP BIO and AP HISTORY. The children are required to take the AP exams.</p>
<p>"I'm wondering how adcoms use AP test scores, if at all."</p>
<p>I see a big difference between public and private. At publics it can be the "formula" and not the "adcom" that makes the decision. At privates it can be so holistic that any single factor can be outweighed by others.</p>
<p>At UCSD the published formula was so detailed that we could see that they made a mistake denying our DD entrance; showing them the mistake got her admitted.</p>
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For many schools, especially public schools, the AP designation is just an excuse to give their kids some extra points on their GPA. The exam is not needed and even discouraged.</p>
<p>I say do not give an A unless the student can write a 5 on the exam. 4=B etc.</p>
<p>Any school that gives an AP A to a student that writes a 3 or less is gaming the system.
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<p>Since the Newsweek high school rankings are entirely based on students sitting an AP test, I would think it's the other way around: the class would be what's not needed. </p>
<p>Tying the grade in the class to the AP score isn't a practical approach, especially since AP scores aren't available until long after course grades are submitted. Also, the course grades are supposed to be cumulative, and not just the product of one 3 hour test. You might as well suggest that a student not be able to finish high school with a 4.0 GPA if they didn't get a 2400 on their SAT. </p>
<p>During one of my AP tests ~30 years ago, one of my classmates blanked. We'd gotten to the essay portion of the test, and he froze up, and started muttering about how he couldn't remember anything. The rest of us in the immediate area felt dreadful for him, but there was nothing we could do. He had done well in the course, had put in the work. I can't imagine that all that would be reduced to a D or F for his final grade because of that one bad day.</p>
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I guess you may be right that some people need the test score to measure how well the student did. Hopefully, that person is the one taking the test.
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<p>What I actually said was: "Some kids just enjoy the challenge. Some feel that they ought to carry through and "finish" the course. Some want to find out how well they can do." The "some" refers pretty clearly to the kids, not to random other people.</p>