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SteveMA, this is the issue at our school - our district has eliminated ‘honors’ courses so there are only two levels of many junior and senior courses - Academic or AP - and the gulf between the two is wide. My D is not taking so many AP’s (14 total) because she is eager to skip freshman requirements at college, but because these are the best classes available to her at her HS. </p>
<p>The AP’s my kids have had vary greatly in quality, and the teacher makes a huge difference. But, even when the teacher is not great, at least there is a huge pool of resources available to augment instruction at home since the curriculum is largely standardized. D was out with mono for two months junior year while taking 5 AP’s - we found online presentations, PPT’s, video’s etc that she could watch from home that worked seamlessly with the instruction given at school that she missed out on (but she really missed the interaction with her best teachers and was very happy to return to class). </p>
<p>In districts with a lot of resources and excellent teachers, I have no doubt that many students would be better served in classes that have depth and rigor vs. the fact-heavy AP curriculum, but in ours, it is the best choice available.</p>