One score ruined my award, can I drop it??

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

I have one 5, three 4s, two 3s, and one 1. Because of the 1, my average is like 3.4 if I remember. For the ap distinction award it has to be 3.5. Is it possible to drop the exam that I have a 1 in?

I find this whole process unfair because it’s the opposite of encouraging. Instead of feeling good that I at least challenged myself by taking the ap chem exam, instead I feel regretful and wish I never took it. This is what the collegeboard is doing - discouraging students from taking hard courses/exams.

I bet there’s students out there who took the “easy” APs and managed to get the award. So just because I decided to challenge myself and didn’t take the easy way out I don’t get an award??

Excuse my rant. Point of the question, can I drop it or not? Thanks

2

No, you can’t drop the score for purposes of AP Scholar award consideration. You don’t have to report it to any colleges but you can’t hide it from College Board, which grants the awards.

3

And you can easily look up the score distribution for the exam in which you scored a 1. You’ll see the percentage of people who took the exact same test as you but scored higher than 1. Most exams have 85-90 percent of takers score higher than 1. For most, over fifty percent of students score 3+. You had a bad result which is unfortunate, but that doesn’t make the award process unfair.

4

My teacher was really bad. And with that I still took the ap exam, knowing I’d fail, but I decided it’s fine since I need to challenge myself.

Other people won’t and they’ll get the award.

5

You are placing WAY too much emphasis on this “award.” It’s really not a big deal.

6

College doesn’t reward you for stretching beyond your comfort zone either – it rewards results, not effort. Better to realize this now with something that has no bearing on any part of your future.

7

This is a minor award. If the AP distinction level was important to you but you took an exam you knew you were unprepared for, then that still doesn’t make the award process unfair. The award level requirements are readily available; if you thought you were going to fail that exam but you really wanted the award you didn’t have to take the exam. You do qualify for an AP Scholar award, just not the one you were hoping for. It’s not going to make any difference in your college admissions, there’s no scholarship, it’s really no big deal. Best to move on.

8

And never blame your teacher for your failure.

9

“My teacher was really bad.”

If the teacher is bad, self-study. Crash Course videos and Khan Academy can save your bacon, but you have to want it and put in the work.

10

Yeah true. I just wanted it because at my senior honors ceremony, which will be next year, I won’t be called to get it. Not a big deal but I would’ve liked to get it

11

the award isn’t that big a deal, and you cant drop a test to earn it when the criteria is the average of the tests you took. really not a big deal. let it go

12

The point in giving AP exams is not to “encourage” anybody.

It’s to award college credit to high school students who are advanced enough to merit it. Period.

And this won’t be the last time you get a teacher you view as “really bad”… though I’m guessing that your classmates who got 5’s might disagree. Again, let’s put this on a college level: you get a prof with a HEAVY accent and you can’t understand him. Do you blame I’m for your poor grades or find a way to learn the material??

13

Old thread, but I was looking through it and decided to point something out for everyone saying that I can’t blame the teacher because over 50% pass or because some of my classmates mustve passed.

NONE of my classmates passed. Zero. Had some 1s and 2s, no 3s. Is that still not enough?