<p>We have all seen the variation in the number of AP’s taken. Are these really intensive academic learning experiences for better students, or simply test prep courses that deliver AP results similar to SAT preps? One wonders when you see people taking 15 AP courses and getting all 5’s how that could be if it were an intense learning experience. Since we have many on CC who have done all kinds of AP’s, it would be interesting to get peoples opinions.</p>
<p>‘Intense academic learning experiences’ and test prep are not mutually exclusive. </p>
<p>That said, it really depends on the teacher.</p>
<p>My son hasn’t opted for APs much, and instead has taken his more advanced classes directly from the public univ. that is local to us. But in my limited experience of his APUSH and AP Comp classes, I would say they are just monster test prep classes. Not that you can’t learn a lot in a monster test prep class – I mean the tests are based on real content, so prepping for them involves mastering that content – but in my son’s experience, they are far less intellectually stimulating and interesting than the college classes he’s taken directly. But… JMO, of course.</p>
<p>All classes depend on the teacher, but at my school, AP Euro is a real learning experience. It’s a lot of lecturing, but the professor is awesome and he really keeps the class enthralled (excepting when he goes on wild tangents about Lord Dalhousie, who was basically just like Cecil Rhodes but less successful and a lot less interesting). Then again, Euro only has competition from AP Phys, AP Calc, and AP Chem: AP Bio and AP Lit are such jokes that we, the woeful guinea pigs, are regretting taking them. AP French is a joke too, but it’s a work-intensive joke. AP Spanish and Latin are a little more serious, but nothing like AP Phys.</p>
<p>obviously it’s going to vary, but at my school the AP classes are so very much learning experiences to the extent that the students complain about not being prepared for the actual AP tests. Each and every AP history or social science class at my school is scrambling during april to get through the material (last year in APUSH we only ended up getting to the 1920s) but the teachers have unbelievably high passing rates anyway. So AP classes at my school are definitely learning experiences, and we usually pass the tests as well.</p>
<p>It really does depend on the teacher. For example, in my school, there are 2 AP Language teachers. My class was all about learning- it was discussion based, intensive, and probably the best class I have ever taken. However, the other class, while the students still learned a great deal, was much more test-focused. I mean, we didn’t use the word “AP” until the week before the test, when my teacher decided it was time to prep us. Mind you, every single person in my class earned either a 4 or a 5 (with the exception of one student: he got a 3). The other class did just as well.</p>
<p>In my school, it seems that the AP sciences and math classes are much more focused on the AP test than any of the other courses. Of course, I can only speak of the ones I have taken (Chemistry, Environmental, Calc BC). I learned a lot in those classes, but the teachers did/are teach[ing] for the test. I have had truly amazing experiences in my other AP classes (European History, American History, World History, English Language, English Literature, US Government).</p>
<p>I absolutely hate AP classes. I feel like all I do all year is cram for the test. I took AP Euro last year and don’t remember anything from it. I remember much more from my ninth grade world history class that pretty much only focused on Europe. </p>
<p>I just don’t like AP tests. I don’t think they accurately reflect everyone’s abilities. Sometimes you just have a bad writing day. What if that happens on the day you have to write 3 essays for an AP test?</p>
<p>AP classes at my school are mostly just test prep. And well it works. People from my school get mostly 4s and 5s, but is that really worth it?</p>
<p>It’s all about the teacher, I think. I took AP Euro last year and my teacher was a phenomenal lecturer, very dynamic and interesting; none of us opened the textbook once and we all got 4’s and 5’s on the exam. Similarly, my APUSH teacher this year is a great lecturer as well, although I think giving us an FRQ and a DBQ a week is going a little overboard with the preparation. But I feel that in both classes, I actually retain the information. I constantly make little trivia references to European and US history that no one but the kids who had/have my teachers get. :-)</p>
<p>Some teachers teach straight to the test, and others just teach a high-level course. I think the best scenario is to have a teacher dedicated to the subject; if you master the material, you’ll not only be ready for whatever the exam throws at you, but you’ll carry that knowledge with you into the future.</p>
<p>I think it’s both. However, the APs don’t go into as much depth as IB.</p>
<p>Public education has become one giant standarized test.</p>
<p>Like many have said, it’s all about the teacher. I was lucky in that most of my APs were good learning experiences (and the students still did well on the tests). The best teachers tended to want to teach APs.</p>
<p>There were exceptions, but as a general rule, I loved taking AP classes. They were usually the best classes available to me. They were frequently stronger than the equivalent classes at the local university.</p>
<p>For the math and science AP’s, a course which is intensive should automatically prepare you for the exam. I felt the coverage on the math and science AP’s made sense.</p>
<p>From this set of responses it looks like the answer is it “all depends.” I am guessing the colleges know this, so I wonder how they differentiate. I would assume they are looking for content over simply test prep. Anyone know?</p>
<p>The AP classes that i am taking this year do not have the feel of test prep courses at all. I’m in AP chem, BC calc and AP macro economics. The teachers do bring in problems from the AP test because obviously if the class does well on the test- it makes them look good.</p>
<p>I assure you that taken an AP class is a major learning experience. If you apply yourself in class and stay on top of your game, you will learn more in an AP class then all other classes in that corresponding subject combined.</p>
<p>Neither of the AP courses I’ve taken (Euro and English) have had much at all to do with test-prep. That’s just the way my school rolls, I guess, and I think I prefer it that way… I killed myself for Euro, hardest class I’ve ever taken, but really rewarding in the end. I didn’t study for the test afterwards (we’re on a trimester schedule - Euro was the first two trimesters, then we were on our own until the test) and I got a 3, which I was ok with; really, what I had cared about in Euro was writing papers, not memorizing facts, and I think that’s what got me on the test.</p>
<p>English in my school is a little silly… “AP” means you do a long-term extra project as part of an integrated class (of both honors/AP + non-honors students) twice over jr/sr years…</p>
<p>They are hard at my D’s high school, not for test prep. I think they are college prep. Lots of writing except the Science and Math.</p>
<p>college prep, not college class. there is a difference as some have noted. and for so many to think it true college work is kind of sad…it aint</p>
<p>I think the Collegeboard people design the tests pretty well, so it’s pretty hard to pass the exam without understanding the subject relatively thoroughly. I feel like my AP classes are more focused on learning the skills and concepts that the exam tests than learning how to get a great grade on the test. This might seem like an unimportant difference, but I feel like my AP Lang class, for instance, is more focused on teaching us how to write a 9-quality essay than getting a 9 on our essays when we take the exam, if that makes any sense. </p>
<p>I LOVE my AP classes, and I think they do represent more than your average high school course. But of course, it also depends on the teacher… I haven’t had a bad AP teacher yet, but let’s just say based on some of our teachers, there’s a reason we don’t offer some of the other AP courses.</p>
<p>Totally test preps. School isn’t much of ‘real learning experiences’ at all.</p>