<p>So I Have to pick my Junior year schedule soon and I'm stuck on whether or not I should take AP Chem. In the entire history of my school there has been only 1 person to pass the AP exam (my school has been open for almost six years now) and the current teacher is known to be horrendous. However, next year a new teacher will be taking her spot (she has only taught regular chemistry at this point, but has a very good reputation). Should I take the risk of jumping into an upper level Chemistry class with a new teacher or wait till Senior year? Should I adjust my schedule accordingly if I do take the class? How is the workload and overall difficulty of the class? If I do not take AP Chem, what AP should I take in its place? My current schedule for next year is:</p>
<p>Pre-Calculus
English III Honors
US History Honors (not much of a history buff...)
AP Bio (Bio has always been easy for me, so this class should be no problem)
AP Spanish (I'm a native speaker)
AP Human (easy...)</p>
<p>Sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm really in a bind here. Any insight would be greatly appreciated :)</p>
<p>But the teacher is definitely changing next year, that’s the thing. She has never taught AP before but she has taught regular chemistry at the school and all her students gush about her. Should I trust a first-year AP teacher or not? Also I forgot to mention, I have not yet taken a chem class, so I will be doing chemistry honors online over the summer.</p>
<p>AP Chem is quite difficult, even with a really good teacher. It’s a lot of work both in and out of the classroom. The best time to take it is right after a regular or introductory course, so if you’re definitely taking that computer class this summer then take AP chem next year. If you could take the computer class between junior and senior year then I would suggest that and ap chem senior year. The first year of teaching a new subject is difficult for a teacher. I’ve had a few of mine flat out tell me that half the time it’s a trial and error for the best way to teach the material. That first year is when they learn what works and what doesn’t. Of course, you’ll have to see if that works with the rest of your schedule.</p>
<p>Not about the teacher, it’s about the student. My school’s first year we had the unknowing football coach teach ap bio and those who thought they breezed throuh the class failed the test while those who self studied passed. Buy a review book, they save lives.</p>
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. The original poster asked this question 4 years ago; I assume s/he no longer looking for opinions. Use old threads for research, but do not resurrect.