Making "A's" in class but 1 on AP Tests ?

Cressida · 07-15-2008, 01:23 PM

My student is going to a public magnet HS that is suppose to be a good school with college preparation.

This past year he took AP Calc. BC and AP Physics C and was at or near the top in both classes making A's each semesters with what I think are good teachers. I thought he was doing well and was generally pleased .... then the AP test scores came in !

He received a 1 on both of these AP test. Good grief, is this a sign the school is sugar coating the subject material or what is going on?

Anyone else noticed anything like this before? Does the HS get a summary of their students AP scores so they can see how they are performing on these test?

tickytock14 · 07-15-2008, 01:26 PM

I had the opposite.. I failed a class but got a 5 on the test.

zfox001 · 07-15-2008, 02:00 PM

I got an A for AP chem and a 3 on the exam....i think it was because while I did very well in the class....i never fully learned the material due to the style of teaching.
we had like 2 tests all year. mostly little quizes and if you did badly you could retake them as many times as you wanted. it never forced me to actually learn everything like i should have

owlice · 07-15-2008, 02:06 PM

tickytock, it helps to do the homework.

Good for you for doing so well on the exam!

Cressida, I'd bet your son has some insight into what the problem is, so I'd ask him first. There is NO excuse for a student who gets As in AP courses to get 1s on the exams (barring illness, etc., of course). If I were in your shoes, I'd first talk to other parents to see whether this is a widespread problem, and then to the school.

I'd want to know the AP pass rate of the different AP teachers at the school (assuming it's possible to get from the school; if it's not possible to get from the school, I'd likely start trying to find out on my own, by asking students for data -- their scores, who taught their class -- and compiling the info myself). I'd encourage the students to start looking after their own interests if the AP teachers they are assigned don't, and by that, I mean by self-studying, going through review books, checking the curriculum taught at the school with the suggested AP curriculum (available on the AP web site), taking practice tests, and so on.

Ugh. How awful! I hope the school at least paid for the test!

Rferns · 07-15-2008, 02:16 PM

No offense, but A's and 1s equate to either insance grade inflation, horrible standardized test taking (on your students part), a medical ailment, or cheating during the school year. I think with 1's its very hard to convince colleges that your "AP" level classes truly deserved the prestiguous label and grade weight.

Liist · 07-15-2008, 02:49 PM

It could be an exception. You don't know what happened to him on the test. He might have just froze or really screwed something up.

ArtAficionado · 07-15-2008, 02:54 PM

It might be that the classes don't teach what's actually on the AP exam. Some of the stuff that school curriculum covers might have jack squat to do with what is actually on the exam. (For my Calculus AB class, there was some extraneous material, but my teacher saved that for after the exam.)

CountingDown · 07-15-2008, 02:55 PM

My guess is that if College Board sees that many students at a school are getting 1s, they'll request an audit. This is part of what they were trying to rectify (whether or not it was done successfully is another story) by requiring all AP teachers to submit a syllabus to College Board -- they were trying to verify that the class being taught is actually AP level.

That's not much comfort to the OP at this point. Not surprised at the Physics score, though, if the OP's son did poorly on BC Calc.

OP, did your S get to do practice tests in class or with a study guide? Did the teachers offer review sessions before the exam? My kids' schools make sure that everyone gets some experience with prior exams before the real thing. Many also get review books -- it's a fairly cheap (<$20, but many schools have them on loan in the career/college center) way for a student to make sure the teacher has covered everything that will be on the exam.

My kids have also been lucky to have teachers who have been graders for various exams, and they have a good sense of what level of work is expected -- and hold the kids to that level all year long. My older son busted his tail to get Bs in AP English Comp all year long, but nailed the AP exam and the CR/W sections on the SAT without difficulty. The teacher was that tough.

oneeyeddeacon · 07-15-2008, 03:26 PM

Maybe he signed his name, answered a question, and left...

ignatius · 07-15-2008, 05:10 PM

My three children each attended a different hs, so I got to note first hand that an AP class at one school can bear absolutely no resemblance to the supposedly identical class at another school.

Oldest d had a demanding AP USH teacher - constantly quizing over reading material, comprehensive tests, incessant writing practice. A's in the class were few and far between, but 5's on the AP are standard.

Youngest d had a teacher who knew the material and gave interesting lectures. Minimal quizzes, tests, and writing practice - although A's were not the norm as the quizzes and tests were hard. However, the students were less prepared because IMO they didn't have that CONSTANT PRACTICE through quizzes/tests and writing. 3's, 4's, and 5's on the AP are the norm for this teacher.

I would be leary of an easy A in any AP class.

collegemom16 · 07-15-2008, 06:50 PM

Perhaps your son didn't understand the directions and improperly marked his answer book on the multiple choice sections.

Claire1016 · 07-15-2008, 07:16 PM

It's all about what you study and if you study the exact material that will be on the exam. Maybe that was the fatal flaw. I self studied for an AP exam in a month and studied exactly what collegeboard said the exam tested and got a 4. I took AP European history at my school and it was a fairly intensive class, but I got a 3 on the exam.

jaf1991 · 07-15-2008, 08:59 PM

My daughter got a B+ in AP Calculus AB and imagine her surprise when she got a 5 on the test. We're attributing it to a teacher who really knew how to prepare her students for the test.

legend.dracula · 07-15-2008, 09:28 PM

I have another question.
My friend took the AP Test "just for fun" to see how he did on it. If I did the same, in case I got bad grade would it affect my chance to get to good colleges ??

Elanorci · 07-15-2008, 10:50 PM

If he was confident about the tests, you should consider asking CB to rescore the test (which they will do for a $25 fee). In my opinion, it's worth it, especially if he received two 1s-- which is a little unusual, yes? It could have been his pencil or something.
Head over to the AP test prep forum. There's a good thread about this and examples of instances in which rescoring has drastically raised scores.