Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments AP exams in middle school

DS12 has the opportunity to take AP Computer Science A exam this year. One advantage I see is that he will get it out of the way, freeing up more space in his schedule when he gets to high school for other courses. He is really big on STEM so we need to find space in high school schedule for all the core AP Science exams along with all the mandatory courses and electives. A disadvantage is that he will not gain high school credit for Computer Science since it will be exam only.

What do you see as the pros and cons of taking an AP exam in middle school? Will colleges even consider an AP exam taken in middle school for credit or placement?

First, you may need to request to have a middle school AP score "kept on the record", and I think AP scores are only valid for five years.

That being said, I don't think very many colleges give credit for Computer Science A, and if your son is big into STEM, he will certainly have more impressive CS accomplishments that he can list on college applications.

I wouldn't worry about gaining HS credit. Getting enough credits to graduate is typically not a big deal. I would ask what you mean by "all the core AP science exams" and along with "all the mandatory courses and electives". My middle kid likes to learn about anything and everything, so she took a mix of APs on the STEM side and humanities side. In the end, five STEM and five humanities APs. And the kid still found time for Netflix binging (along with two varsity sports, and travel in one sport).

I say take the course and the exam, as it gives him a good introduction to APs without any pressure. I would focus more on crafting a path through HS that meets his interests.

I didn't realize that the AP scores were only valid for a few years, I will look into that, it may mean delaying taking the exam for another year. I will also ask to keep his scores on record, I hadn't thought about that, thanks for the tip.

There are few topics involved here.

According to the College Board, for SAT scores - "Official score reports sent to colleges five or more years after a test date are accompanied by a message explaining that they may be less valid predictors of college academic performance than more recent scores."

This doesn't mean they are "invalid" according to CB. However, some individual colleges do require scores within the last 5 years.

SAT tests taken before the summer between 8th and 9th grade are automatically deleted by College Board, so they won't appear on any future test score reporting, unless you request they be retained.

Note - all of the above is SAT only.

For AP tests, College Board says:
If your most recent AP Exam was over four years ago, your AP scores are no longer viewable in our online score reporting system. They have been archived which means that you will only be able to request your scores be sent to a college, university, or scholarship program via mail or fax. Complete the Archived AP Scores Request Form (.pdf/72KB), and mail or fax it with payment to the address or number indicated on the form.

There's nothing about scores no longer being valid, just that they aren't electronically available.

I've also found nothing about AP scores being automatically deleted. It makes sense for SAT tests, but not for AP tests, so I doubt they are expunged from student records.

I'd contact College Board directly before making decisions on any of the info posted here.

I stand corrected. They may disappear from the account, but are archived. As I said before, I think it is a good introduction to APs, so take the test.

Is he taking the course?

Would it be overwhelming sitting next to a senior taking the exam?

At our high school you need AP computer science principles and Algebra 2 to take the class

AP Comp Sci A was torture for my son who coded quite a bit in Java before taking the course. I understand that many kids that already program do not enjoy AP CS A but it is the only way to get any documentation of their skills other than things like USACO.

Thanks everyone for responding.

NotSoGifted he is not taking the course and was not planning on taking it because he has already covered the material in it and the offer from the school was for him to take the exam not the course, however I was planning to have him review the material and learn the format of the exam prior to the test. In the end we decided against it for this school year.

Nicoledad, I don't think he will be overwhelmed sitting next to a senior, he has taken programming and other CS classes with high school students in the past.

I will find out from the school whether he can take the course with high schoolers next year and get HS credit for it since he will have the prerequisite for it by then (Algebra 2) and sit for the exam as well. Hopefully taking the course won't be torture for him like it was for Ruazak's son. It will be great to document his skills with the AP CS exam and be exempted first level CS classes in college even if he doesn't get credit.

According to the college board "The AP designation may only be applied to courses offered at or above the ninth-grade level that have received authorization through the annual AP Course Audit process. The AP label cannot be affixed to courses and transcripts earlier than ninth grade. There is one exception to this policy: AP world language and culture courses. These courses focus on linguistic proficiency and cultural competency, so in rare situations these courses can be successfully offered earlier than ninth grade among students who can already speak, read, and write the language with fluency. In summary, the AP Course Audit will only renew or authorize courses that are offered exclusively in grades 9–12, with the exception of AP world language and culture courses." https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-course-audit/faqs/classes-in-middle-school-ap

This policy is also emphasized in the college board document linked below.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/apc/Appropriate-Grade-Levels-for-AP-Courses.pdf

It appears that schools are not allowed to designate a course that isn't a language course as AP if it is offered at the middle school level, I assume this also applies to a middle school student allowed to take a course offered only at the high school level. I wonder how talent search organizations get around this for accelerated students. Presumably there are some gifted students that are ready to take AP Calculus BC course in middle school, I wonder if such students can only be offered the AP exam.

My son was considering taking AP world History last year as an eighth grader (his school is 6-12). What they do is the teacher teaches period x as AP world history but has two class lists. One has the 18 or so 10th graders and is designated AP one has the two or three eighth graders and is labeled Honors. They all take the AP exam and get high school credit for the class, except those three only get honors. You still get your AP score.

In the end we decided not to do that. Idiot policy that is age discrimination. If you sit through the same class you should get the same credit. I could have pushed to just accelerate him to 9th grade and skip 8th, but didn’t.