| I agree with swimcatsmom: It depends a good deal on the teacher. It also depends on the school, in a number of different ways.
So far we've had two very different experiences, one with D at our local public (which is in many ways a terrific school, especially when you factor in the extreme diversity of our district), and one still in progress at the private school S1 attends.
At the public school, it's just as missypie said, they're in love with the Newsweek and other rankings; they want to show big, big numbers in the AP classes. APs are open to all, and one result is that sometimes even good teachers simply can't keep on pace with the material, because some students absolutely can't follow. So there are times when it's just ludicrous to call these college-level classes. Even if that's not the case there's little time for the sorts of interesting discussions the material might spark - it's run, run, run for the finish line. And as mathmom said, in NY time is particularly tight. As for after-the-exam: The school's policy allows seniors who've applied for internships to stop attending class after the AP exam (so that they can do their internships). What the juniors or non-interning seniors do varies depending on the class, but the variations are much like those other posters have described.
At the private school, it's hard to get into an AP. They don't cut things off strictly by GPA, but it's factored in, along with class participation, etc. So far what we're hearing from S1 is that these are great classes, and that while the material's being covered, much more is going on, too. Because it's a private school, the year ends abt three weeks earlier than the public school, so there's less after-AP-exam time, but for the most part they will be covering interesting tangents or doing not-for-grade projects.
Honestly I think the AP system is kind of a trap, especially at the public schools. And it's a trap that's just getting tighter. Kids (and parents) feel they MUST take as many as possible, even though they're often not the best/most challenging option. (And whether or not good AP scores convey any real advantage to kids once they hit college is a big variable.) Ideally there would be many more options available for all kids at all high schools; ideally each school's GCs would do a really great job of explaining to the colleges which courses represent a significant challenge.
Ideally I'd be getting some dinner together right about now. Oops. |