Originally Posted by HowlerKarma
As in, they've never seen anything like it, had no instruction in how to approach a problem like it, and there are NO examples in their course or text to support solving them.

(Seriously, DH and I have both looked these exams over in the context of the course instruction and frankly, most college sophomores would be sinking under these expectations.)

It's completely surreal.

I've read some reasonable-sounding criticisms of AP Physics; here's one on a blog called Quantum Progress.

From what I've read, people are questioning the content of AP classes. Many criticisms center on the idea that many or most AP classes are too superficial. This was certainly the case with the AP history class my son enrolled in and then dropped. It raced through almost 400 years of American history in 29 weeks. My understanding is that all AP US history courses cover this much material (some better than others). AP Physics (especially AP Physics B) has had some heavy criticisms in that regard.

As a counterpoint, I have an IB Physics textbook (author: Tsokos). It's 800 pages long and covers 8 main topics in 470 pages and some optional topics in the remaining pages. I've been surprised at the depth the book goes into. There's some really good stuff there. This is due, I think, to the fact that the course is designed to be taught over two years, rather than one.

Oh, the College Board has finally reformed AP Physics B, but the new classes won't start until 2014.