Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can add their opinions to an AP class problem my S is having. A little background on him, he has accepted a college offer and got into the honors program. Top 5% of his senior class. His AP Chem teacher has decided to make after school study sessions mandatory and giving 0 test grades to those who don’t attend. She is in her 3rd year of teaching. Last years students who had her were not properly prepared for the AP exam and many did not do well, those who did, studied from an AP test prep book. And this year she is currently behind in her lessons. My Sons three other AP teachers told him this is going against school policy and he can fight it. Out of 98 students total in all her classes, my son is the only one fighting it. We took the advice of another teacher and I emailed the supervisor of the science department and we are waiting to hear back. The study sessions consist of the students being handed a worksheet. No talking, no interaction with the teacher. You finish, you go home. Get a 100% test grade. My S is not against study sessions, just against what is happening in this case. I bought him the Princeton Review AP Chem test book to help him study. He cares about his grades, is worried about this affecting his college acceptance but has to fight something that just seems so wrong. My H and I back him. Sorry the post is so long. Has anyone ever had to deal with something like this? He says his other AP teachers are impressed by his ‘courage’ to take a stand.
It depends upon what he wants. If standing up against a stupid rule and impressing his other AP teachers and fellow students is important then sure, challenge it.
If passing his courses and AP exams are more important so he can move on to college without wasting time on controversies then go with that.
Not trying to impress anyone. The rule is not a school policy. Sure, he could take the easy way out. Hold his head down and just go along.
In that case, challenge it and face the consequences, if any. Since it’s not a school policy, there shouldn’t be any consequences but if there are then ask him to file an appeal with his principal and then with the school board. Good for him to raise his voice against it.
I would guess that making after school sessions mandatory and part of a student’s grade is against school policy. It also puts students who have after school jobs or sports at a huge disadvantage. I think your son has a legitimate point and isn’t wrong to fight it.
You and your son can decide how much he should be willing to sacrifice to fight against this policy. I would feel differently depending upon whether he is just fighting to prove a point or because there are students who are actually being harmed by being required to stay after school. Reasonable people can come to different conclusions, so I have nothing to add.
But this sort of stuff does amuse me. Creating after school study sessions - that were basically mandatory - was one thing that famous high school calculus teacher Jaime Escalante did to help his students from a poor, underachieving high school do so well on the AP Calculus exam. His passion and his willingness to sacrifice his personal time to help his students were so lauded that they made the movie Stand and Deliver about him, and Edward James Olmos played him in the movie.
How people react to something depends on how a situation is presented and whether their prejudices bias them to viewing someone as a hero or a villain.
If she has just decided this, more than halfway through the school year, then yes, I would have an issue with it and personally would fight it. Again, this is a personal decision, but since kids often has jobs/sports/etc after school, I cannot see how a school/district could possibly let this “policy” stand.
If, as is often the case with the more challenging AP classes, this was announced at the outset, then the student has the option to take the class or not.
Your son is against it as a matter of principal but it’s strange that out of other 98 students, no one else has filed a complaint on grounds of scheduling conflicts. Get others on board, specially ones who have to miss bus, miss work or after school activities. If you have a signed petition and valid arguments then it would be easier to get it overturned. However, if others need or want this extra help to score well on AP exam then you have no argument. If your son wants a waiver to skip this session then he has a right to get it.
This teacher’s demand is unacceptable and needs to be dealt with by her Program Director/Department Head. It is problematic that she appears to have so little confidence in her ability to deliver competent instruction that she has placed such a demand on her students. Rookie mistake.
If I were you, I would connect with other parents, take your concern to the teacher herself, and if she doesn’t reverse her position, take it to her supervisor. It is one thing to offer extra credit to students who participate in optional study sessions - quite another to mandate attendance.
My perspective is informed by my (long) career as a high school teacher, including many years as an AP instructor. Good luck to you. I would not stand for this.
Good for your son @Run4life99 - If no one officially complains, then things can’t be changed.
I know what my daughter would do. She would attend the sessions and complete the worksheet so that she does not get the zero, she would teach herself the material, and she would speak to the department head and let him know what was going on- it is clearly unfair. I would stay out of it- mostly because my daughter would tell me to.
In our district, many AP teachers offer tutorials before or after school or during lunch. However, those aren’t mandatory.
@garvey my S has a couple of friends whose parents wanted to complain, so it seems we will have others onboard as this coming week progresses. One friend did receive a 0 due to a track meet. The real issue is giving a test grade assessment for a study session. Which can have you failing the class rather quickly. He doesn’t want to attack the teacher personally because he does like her. So the fight is about school policy and how this can be allowed.
Thanks everyone for your input. It helps to hear different opinions.
@SugarlessCandy AP study sessions are great and my S has been to many in the past. And will still go to them this year. They do help. Just a problem with this one.
@twogirls I was going to let my son handle this, but because of advice he received from another teacher, I needed to get involved.
Our school offers review classes which are not mandatory. Some teachers offer extra credit for attending but points are not deducted for missing them. I didn’t realize about the extra credit last year when I barred my son from attending review classes taught by a teacher whose class I had him removed from. Had I known, I would have sent him and instructed him to sit in the back, keep his head down and not engage the teacher. I did complain about the policy not being made known.
In the OP’s case, I would definitely complain as a parent. However, what you can do also is contact the college he has chosen, anonymously, and find out what grade would result in a rescission, if any. If you are assured there are no concerns, I would have him go to the classes when he can, get the 100 and file an individual complaint for each one he gets a 0 for non-attendance on due to a conflict. In the meantime, I would be fighting to end this policy and having son concentrate on getting the best possible grade on the AP test. The HS grade doesn’t matter as much as getting the college credit.
It seems like this problem should have just lasted for about one day. Once this requirement was brought to the principal, the teacher should have been informed that these afterschool sessions cannot be mandatory unless students were informed in advance of registering for the course.
There are equity issues here for students who need to go home or work after school and someone needs to speak up. It is great that the son took the lead but like I said, if this problem has lasted more than a day then the son is going too slowly.
Just to add some info, there are no other AP teachers having mandatory study time. We did sign an agreement at the beginning of the year that did mention study sessions, but not them counting as a test grade. He could only take the course if we signed the paper. Wish I made a copy. So there could be a breach of ‘contract’. I guess we will find out this week. My S also is ready to give up the class if he has to, but is also ready to pass the AP test in May on his own or with a tutor if it comes to that. It may seem easier to say just go to the study sessions, don’t make waves. But, it’s his fight and he is ready to face the consequences.
@CheddarcheeseMN , One of the other students supposedly talked to the principle, just hearsay, and he said it is against school policy but he would support the teacher on this.
My daughter would also fight it but the policy also would not last long, if at all. Good luck!
I hate to say it but since your son signed the agreement I would have him attend the study session and finish the class out unless it causes undue hardship in terms of a job, a sports commitment he would have to give up. I would not want him to drop AP Chem at this point.
If he is a senior dropping out of AP Chem into a lower level could be problematic in terms of college admissions as his final transcript won’t reflect the AP course that was on his application. If he is a junior it would still be beneficial to have taken AP Chem for course rigor – especially since it seems he has no problems with the material.
I understand and agree that the sessions should not be mandatory and should not count as tests, but your S signed an agreement and the principal backs the teacher up. This may be a case of the saying “cutting of the nose in spite of the face”.
Well, I would not go on hearsay, but even if he did say that, there is always the superintendent. 
I also would think that the coach{es) would have an issue with this, since, in their minds, games/meets come first and would certainly be concerned about something that could affect athletic eligibility.
(@happy1 This may be a case of the saying “cutting of the nose in spite of the face”.)
I worry about that too. This week will be an interesting one. He’s not too far into this if it doesn’t work in his favor. Big learning experience at least. He has to start sometime! 