jcort1
Posts: 13
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Yesterday at 11:22 am · in World Languages
My dtr is a high school senior. She has taken 4 years of Honors Italian and has an A to A- average all 4 years. AP Italian was not an option at her school. My question is, should she chance a shot at the Italian AP test even without having any AP class in it? She didnt get a straight answer from her counselor or teachers so I was just curious about what everyone on this forum thought .
One doesn’t have to take AP class to take AP test, and doesn’t have to take AP test after taking AP class.
You can buy a book with sample tests and see how your D does.
If the purpose is to get college credit for the AP exam, another option may be to take an exam at the school she will attend. The test can be for placement and credit. Italian is a little less common than Spanish or French, but see if the school she is thinking about offers this option.
She should discuss with her teacher if she would be prepared to take the AP exam. If the teacher doesn’t know you can get an AP Italian review book or a sample exam so she can see where she stands.
I know AP tests aren’t cheap but if money isn’t an issue she could just take the test if she wants. If she doesn’t like her score she doesn’t have to submit it to her colleges. Since she won’t have the AP class on her transcript, schools would never know it was “missing” if she chooses not to send it.
As @Pentaprism suggested, buying a prep book and seeing how she feels about the practice tests would be the first step.
She can try some of the released old AP Italian exam questions to see if she knows the material to the level expected on that test: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_information/51775.html
For foreign languages, colleges may use AP scores for placement, but may also have their own placement tests so that a student who completed a high level in high school can start at the appropriate level (instead of the beginner level) in college.
If she knows what college she’ll be going to, she can check with them on how much credit she’d get for a get score on the AP test, and/or alternatives for placement and/or credit.
Assuming there was a benefit if she gets a good score (likely), I’d lean towards taking it. I assume that you can buy a book to help prep for the test. (You can for most APs, though I’d guess Italian is not at the top of a publisher’s list of targets for AP study guides).
Thank you all for the advice. Much appreciated.