<p>
[quote]
What I don't understand is why Cornell doesn't recognize that huge numbers of students have had AP Bio and offer two intro courses, one for those who have had the AP and another for those who haven't. That way first year bio students wouldn't have to be bored repeating material for the small amount of new stuff. I find it hard to believe that Cornell's intro bio course can cover that much more than our son's AP biology course. My husband was amazed - it certainly covered more than he'd had in first year biology at Harvard. Admittedly, there's a lot of new material in bio from the last 20 years, but still!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The approach you suggest is exactly what Cornell's chemistry department does. They have a special honors introductory chemistry course aimed at students who have taken AP Chemistry. I don't know why biology hasn't tried that approach. It does seem to be a good idea.</p>
<p>Another interesting issue concerning APs is that many of the most selective colleges allow AP credit in at least some cases but do not allow students to count APs toward distribution/general education requirements. I suspect that this reflects an understanding that a student who took an AP course may have mastered a lot of material but may not necessarily have done enough true college-level research and writing -- experiences that the colleges don't want students to miss out on.</p>