At our local public high school, they offer roughly 35 AP classes. Some are things most kids will never take like year 5-6 Mandarin AP Chinese.
Anyway... I know they limit the AP classes sophomores can take and they don't allow freshmen to take any. (My kids are in grade school, so I don't have firsthand experience). My friends whose kids are there say it is because each AP class supposedly adds 4 hours each night of homework, and it would be too much for younger students. An A in an AP course is a 5, not a 4, on a 4.00 GPA, so it boosts your GPA.
I don't know obviously if that is why your school is digging in its heels. Your child can self-study and take AP exams on their own, if they really want to do that.
The other thing too is that high school kids can and should really focus on the "big" exams like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and subject exams. You can take the PSAT as a sophomore. That can lead to some grants/scholarships.
Last edited by jack'smom; 06/05/12 01:24 PM.
