All of our hs science classes require an additional half period (every other day) for lab, not just the AP sciences, even the accelerated science class in 8th grade. (State regulations about labs are apparently strict, teachers have to keep copies of lab work and lab notebooks for a period of time to prove students have fulfilled this requirement, etc.) And yes, our physics C and E/M class is two periods total, but that includes the lab time. When do your kids ever do labs? I guess if you’re on a block schedule that makes sense, but otherwise it seems like there would not be enough time in one period.
I’m pretty sure they are all only assigned one credit, despite taking up more than one period. And it’s interesting to hear that for Kai’s school AP Econ is one credit- here it’s a half credit, one semester class (most kids we know take both exams). Correction- just realized our Econ class is dual enrollment, so not an AP course, though kids take the exams. So maybe that explains the difference.
In our state, kids are required to take PE every other day, with no exceptions, so that is what is usually scheduled opposite the lab periods. My kids have never had lunch in hs, and don’t know any friends who do, either.
Some of our history AP classes schedule “optional” time after school, for essay writing or additional material, with one teacher scheduling all his exams after school. I’m not sure how this is ok with administration, but it creates tremendous stress, particularly as most of these kids do lots of extracurriculars, which are of course after school.
Reading the other thread about work load was interesting- there is no way any homework is happening during the school day here, and if kids miss class for a music lesson or anything (required weekly to participate in the music program) they have to make it up (including gym, after school). My kids are not super speedy, despite finding the work unchallenging (or maybe because the work is unchallenging), and for them the workload has been quite high. But our kids are admittedly involved in a few time-intensive extracurriculars. Still, one kid, who is a terrible procrastinator, was regularly getting up between 4 and 5 am last year to do homework. Not a good situation.
