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As a current high school senior, I'm taking four AP classes (European History, English Language, Government and Politics, Environmental Science) and I took two
by ethnt 14y ago
As a current high school senior, I'm taking four AP classes (European History, English Language, Government and Politics, Environmental Science) and I took two last year (Computer Science and US History). I partially agree with some of the points Tierney is making, but some are just wrong.
I really do not like the CollegeBoard, especially how they have the monopoly on standardized testing. If you want to get into any respectable college you must go through them and take the SAT, or at least some AP courses. They really are a for-profit "non-profit" company, where they squeeze as much money from you as possible. Yes, grading tests takes money, but at $89/exam, it's cost prohibitive for those from low-income families.
However, in my college search over the past year or so, I haven't seen a college that doesn't accept at least some form of AP credit. I have talked to some students that, while helpful, an AP class doesn't replace an introductory course (computer science, for example).
At my school, about 80% of students take at least <em>one</em> AP class over their four years. So, at least for me, I haven't found that AP classes are smaller. They are in fact larger than lower level honors courses, sometimes much more so.
The point where I truly agree with Tierney is where he says the AP courses cover too much too quickly. I live in Connecticut, and we start school about a month later than schools in the south and southeast. However, everyone takes the tests at the same time. This puts us at a huge disadvantage—we have to learn the same material in a much shorter time frame. This also makes it so we can't do much that interests us as a class. For example, in European History we'd take the time to do mock trials, debates, discussions, etc., but we simply don't have the time for that before the AP exam. Of course, we have about a month of school after the AP exam where we can do whatever we'd like, but that doesn't help us take the test.
While I don't think students will stop taking AP classes in the future, it would certainly be nice to have an organization that cares about the student to administer them. The CollegeBoard really is not looking out for the student, but for themselves.
- vonmoltke 14y ago> I really do not like the CollegeBoard, especially how they have the monopoly on standardized testing. If you want to get into any respectable college you must go through them and take the SAT, or at least some AP courses. They really are a for-profit "non-profit" company, where they squeeze as much money from you as possible. Yes, grading tests takes money, but at $89/exam, it's cost prohibitive for those from low-income families. I agree with you about the dubiousness of the College Board's non-profit status, but the only test I or my parents had to pay for was the SAT. Of course, this was in 97-98, so maybe things have changed. I always viewed College Board as a means of extracting money from the schools, not the students. > However, in my college search over the past year or so, I haven't seen a college that doesn't accept at least some form of AP credit. The university I went to for my freshman year (Florida International University) flat out refused to let anyone skip English Lit, no matter how may tests you passed. I did, however, get credit for English Comp and Cal I. I didn't have many AP options at my high school. I took four (Cal AB, both English, and French) and only could have taken two more (US History and Anatomy).