Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Is AP needed?

So... if your child took an AP level course at the local university at a young age, would you then circle back to have that child take the AP course for rigor at a later point in time?

Just my opinion but many take the AP course to get credit for college. If your not doing the AP course for credit maybe it just me what's the point in doing it for rigor?

Maybe if it were say literature where the reading selections in the college course and the reading selections in the AP class might be different (I would ask the teacher) but Newton’s law is Newton’s law....might not do that a second time.

I took high school chemistry (not AP). Year course. In college I took Chemistry (regular 1000 level class). Not only was it a semester class so it went fast but we covered the same material plus some. I was glad I had the background from high school. Some of my friends struggled. I felt prepared yet learned something new daily.

But I would not want to sit through the same exact thing. And my son’s AP teachers are notorious for having tons of assignments like make a bazillion note cards or do this time consuming thing, that you wouldn’t find assigned in a college class.

If the AP course is more rigorous than the college course, why is the student taking the college course? Around here, CC courses are a joke, and the public schools won't give credit for them (except as remedial courses, in certain cases).

If the child is too young to take HS AP courses, but is interested in a subject, why not take a free online course (Coursera or similar)?

AP scores are good for five years, I think. If the child is younger than 8th grade, he probably needs to wait to take the AP exam so it would count for credit or placement for college. I would recommend taking the AP exam if the student is familiar with the material, as college credit or placement may be useful. Both of my older two were/are able to have two majors because they entered college with a lot of AP credit.

It depends on whether the topic is one that the child is using in the mean time. For say, a language course where they don't study the language for a few years and then are thinking about taking the AP course, I'd consider it. Same with a math course if they're not taking more math. But if they are using the material that they learned in the college class, I would see taking the AP class as pointless, not rigorous.

I echo this question, too:

Honestly I think part of the equation is the quality of the AP class offered... and that's something you probably won't have any idea of until your much closer in time to signing up for the class. Elizabeth mentioned languages - we've had a great experience with a language class that really didn't offer anything in new vocabulary to my ds but did offer a native-speaker and great conversation in class every day so it was well worth the time invested in taking it. If he'd had another teacher it might not have been worth it. We've also had different experiences with language arts and social studies AP classes re whether or not the class was focused on teaching to the test vs. teaching toward love of learning and deep thought.

Best wishes,

polarbear

ps - I'd tend to make the decision re this class based on what will be interesting and challenging *now* - once our kids get to high school chances are good that they mostly will be wanting to make their own decisions about classes therefore over-thinking it at this point might to achieve much of anything in the long run.

That depends on the course and the purpose for taking it in the first place. For example, DS took an English course for college credit at the CC the summer before starting high school mainly to polish his research, writing and citation skills. He received an A so could have chosen to include it on his high school transcript as a Dual Enrollment course without damaging his QPA. However, to do so would mean opting out of AP English Composition his Junior year. We both thought he could still benefit from AP English so . . .

I probably would not feel the same if it were a math or science course.