Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Supply lists for AP math and science courses

See "Recommended Supply Lists" at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/html/ap-stem-access-program/ap-stem-access-program.html . The lists are intended for donors funding AP courses. Parents buying for children would need to be much more selective. One can do Google searches such as "supply list AP chemistry". The supply lists include textbooks.

I find the lists fascinating.

As you mentioned, parents purchasing materials for their own children would need to be selective.

I'd be curious to learn, from the perspective of students earning a "5" on the subsequent AP exam, which items on a list were utilized in their classrooms. For example, did a particular text book go unread? Were some materials and supplies unused? If students who earned a "5" could be queried as to which resources they recalled as being utilized and beneficial, possibly the lists could be whittled to their most meaningful items, for the budget conscious among us.

Looking at the lists, I see that many of the suggested textbooks cost more than $200, and several cost more than $300. Authors and editors should be paid for their work, but textbook prices at these levels will discourage independent study by students not provided textbooks by their schools.

Fundamentals of Physics (2013) by Halliday, Resnick, and Walker costs $150 used on Amazon, while the 2004 edition costs $14 used. I assume that either version could be used to prepare for the AP Physics C exam. It would helpful if the College Board or someone else verified the suitability of older editions of textbooks for AP exams and courses.

I've not personally heard of any school utilizing all the books, equipment, materials, and supplies listed.

My thought on self-study is to utilize the textbooks which are easily available (library, half-price books, used book dealers online such as alibris), then take the sample tests to assess readiness for the AP exam.

There are also an abundance of AP test prep books full of test questions and summaries of expected knowledge. Obviously not a substitute for a textbook, but might be a supplement to consider for kids who are not comfortable with multiple choice tests.

If you look at the AP Biology list there is a huge list for lab equipment and supplies. This is obviously to supply a lab that would teach classes full of students. Not sure how a parent who was homeschooling this class would be able to put the labs together if this is all the equipment needed.

Our school only uses one of the books. My reading of the list of books (at least for AP Bio) is a school only needs to choose one but has a choice as to textbook publisher.

My thought is that all the equipment is not needed. One place to begin may be to watch online overviews of the experiments, such as those presented by Bozeman Science.

The idea behind an AP science class is that it is equivalent to an introductory college lab class. If your child skips the lab portion, he/she will be missing skills needed to succeed in higher level courses. (I am a college bio prof). However, many schools, including my own, would make you re-take bio before moving on to upper-division courses, so it may not really matter.

Agreed. I'm not personally suggesting skipping labs, but rather stating a belief that the equipment lists might be pared down a bit and still support student learning and a successful exam score. Speaking with students who've aced the exam, or gaining a preview/overview of the labs may be two ways to help winnow the list.

I also agree that many institutions that do give credit for AP exams may grant those credits as an "elective" rather than for the specific course, such as Biology.