My kids had classes called “pre-AP” at their high school since at least 2008 when my older son went. They were probably what other high schools would call “honors”, though they were faster paced than “regular” there was no weight in GPA for them.
My kids took pre-AP geometry, pre-AP biology, etc. This school required regular science before AP science so D, for example, took pre-AP Chem then actual AP Chem. The required grade from pre-AP to take AP was like B-, but if you came from regular Chem it was A+, or something like that.
And the school did use the name, on transcripts and schedules and everything. Maybe that will have to change.
A student taking “Pre-AP Algebra 1” during high school is unlikely to arrive in an AP calculus course by senior year unless the student somehow squeezes in an additional math course.
However, it might be interesting to compare “Pre-AP Algebra 1” to Common Core Algebra 1. (Or not.)
My student has also taken pre-AP courses since seventh grade, and the school district uses that label purposely because the goal is getting the students ready for AP classes. I guess with the new College Board branding the district will have to come up with another name for the classes that don’t fit entirely into the CB designation of pre-AP.
On the one hand, I am in favor of no barriers. On the other hand, all students should be college-ready? And being ready for AP coursework - presumably within high school - is a step ahead of even that lofty goal.
Coleman isn’t quite satisfied with his CCSS handiwork and wants to make another go at setting standards?
Is there going to be a fee for going through the auditing process? (There isn’t a fee for going through the AP auditing process.) Are there going to be year-end exams for these Pre-AP classes like there are for AP classes?
In theory, the normal college prep courses should be good for preparing students for college courses, or AP courses in high school for the more advanced students.
The implied assumption is that college prep courses are often inadequate. Unfortunately, it may be a true assumption in many high schools.
So, essentially, there’s going to be a preAP program (expect a rollout of PreAP geometry, algebra2, precalculus, etc) with a branded name and further money for CollegeBoard whi can then bar schools from offering “preAP” classes without their imprimatur… And a competitor for common core (I’m sure there’s a market for parents whindont want common core classes and will thus willingly enroll their kids.)
As for “it’s for everyone” I assume the goal is to increase access to AP… And thus increase the customer base… Good fornsociety, good for CollegeBoard…But if parents know preAP is open to all and honors is for kids who got a B or higher, there’ll be a marketing problem for preAP : so I expect this to be twisted pretty quickly into “no institutional barrier to access but for students who are ready for the high demands implied by the AP label”.
My eyes are going to roll out of my head. So grateful the college board is finding new and interesting ways to make money.
But we homeschool so I have general disdain for the college bound money making racket. Somehow my kid is managing straight A’s in dual enrollment classes on a college campus without ever touching anything from AP/College Board.
This isn’t surprising. Springboard https://springboard.collegeboard.org/ already has CB directly in the curriculum market. What is a little conflict of interest?
CB obviously wants to influence all of high school curriculum.
We are in Canada and AP at DS19’s school is being run as regional congregated program that is by selection only. The AP courses are offered predominantly as grade 12 credits, but the students that are selected enter the program in grade 9. The classes they take in grades 9-11 that lead to the grade 12 AP classes are called “Pre-AP”.
The students that are accepted into the program take 5 of their mandatory subjects for grades 9 & 10 (English, French, Math, Science, Geography/History) at the Pre-AP level and then they are given the choice of what subjects they wish to continue with in grade 11 at the Pre-AP level based on which AP classes they plan to take in grade 12. These Pre-AP classes are accelerated versions of our university stream or U level (what would roughly equate to your Honours level courses. The classes are intended for those students planning on going to university after graduation and represent the highest level courses available as recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Education. AP courses are not recognized by the Ontario Ministry and do not meet the criteria for high school graduation). The intention is for the students to have completed the majority of the grade 12 curriculum by the end of grade 11, basically compacting 4 years into 3. The AP classes are then offered in grade 12 at a level equivalent to first year university. As a result, you can’t take the grade 12 AP class without having first completed the appropriate grade 11 Pre-AP prerequisite (and grade 11 requires grade 10 which requires grade 9).
I presume the idea behind the College Board’s new program is to be similar to the IB MY curriculum so that they can generate additional revenue by expanding their pool of potential students.
I’ve been shaking my head at some of the things the College Board has introduced over the last couple of years. I can’t sat that this takes the cake, but it does come close. Perhaps there will be one bright side:
I hope HS’s will steer 9th graders to that instead of into APHG or APWH. AP classes, after all, are ostensibly comparable to intro college courses, so I have a hard time believing (as apparently do many top colleges given their AP credit matrices) that there are that many 9th graders ready for college-level coursework.
@skieurope - I taught about 50 9th graders AP Euro last year… and had a passing rate higher than the national average for the test (about 60% of my kids scored). Now, to be fair, of the 3 AP classes I teach (the other is APUSH to 10th graders, which had a 75% score rate, and AP World to juniors/seniors, with a 100% score rate last year) the freshman had the highest % of 3s… and only three freshmen scored a 5… but it can be done.
@toowonderful I’m not debating that some 9th graders are ready for an AP class, since clearly these kids exist, . However, as many of these students are targeting colleges where 5’s are the norm, I would not be the person who touts a freshman getting a 3 as a success story. Regardless, I’m not so much faulting the schools who offer these classes (although they do share some of the blame for drinking the CB’s Kool-Aid), and I’m certainly not faulting teachers. I do, however, fault the CB for introducing AP classes like APHG which have no business being AP, IMO.
@skieurope I have to agree. DS19 is in grade 11 and will not take any AP courses until next year in grade 12 so we have yet to see how rigorous they really are. His courses this year are still “Pre-AP”. When he was accepted into the program it was stressed that AP courses were equivalent to first year university courses so I was very surprised to read how many students in grades 9 & 10 in the US appear to be taking AP courses. I find it hard to believe that that many are capable of university level work as well leaving me to believe that some of those courses are not in fact university level. DS will most likely be taking predominantly math and science APs and my understanding from his school is that they will be covering the same material as they would if they were enrolled in the equivalent university course. Even so my research of how these courses are being accepted by the various universities here for transfer credit has found that there is great variability both between schools and between programs. The most rigorous STEM programs will only accept credits for courses outside of core requirements. My view is then that while they are more rigorous than our standard grade 12 university stream courses, the majority will most likely not be directly equivalent to university courses. I have come to view them instead as better prep for university. Ever since Ontario eliminated Grade 13 in 2003 the universities here have been complaining that the incoming students are not as well prepared as they used to be. My feeling is that these AP courses will be more like the grade 13 courses that I took when I was in high school. Hopefully that will mean that DS will have an easier transition to university and he will probably only accept 1 or 2 credits for transfer.
I will freely admit that my freshman AP course in NO way resembles an actual college classroom… but I don’t think it SHOULD. My kids get mountains of support as we go through the course, learning how to take in lots of information, how to present a written argument with evidence, delving into complex understandings and nuances of topics etc. Learning those things in HS (whether or not you get college credit for doing it) will help kids be more prepared when they get to college - THAT is what I like about AP. And though the tests can be the bane of my existence…in general kids take things more seriously when there is a potential reward.
@gwnorth - does your school offer AP classes before grade 12? Statistically, kids test scores improve significantly based on the number of tests taken. Not all of my freshman score, but the vast majority of my sophomores, and ALL of my juniors/seniors do. (to be fair - my junior/senior class is an elective, so I get kids who are enthusiastic rather than taking it b/c they have to get the credit in some way)