Not sure why this was not mentioned, but advise your daughter to study independently for the AP exam starting now- it is still possible to nail the exam despite the interruption! Even if the teacher is not good, she will still need to reinforce the material already covered in class. Once she masters, say, a comfortable 80% of that information (usually a 5), then she could learn the rest of the material by herself.
Those at my school who got 4s and 5s on AP Physics 1 had to do this because none of the teachers knew for sure what would be on the new test!
I agree with the advice given by the sea, but alos think the suggestion above is good. If the student does poorly, no,need to report, but if they do well, that looks even better given what happened.
I think it’s going to be a very rare case where the high school administration will be willing to take responsibility in writing for teaching or staffing failures. Plus for every one time there is a genuine staffing failure, there will be a hundred claims of bad or mean teachers. Don’t we see it every day on CC? “My AP BIo teacher is terrible and hates me and is unfair.” The best thing to do in this circumstance is self-study. My D had a WHAP teacher who was nice but in her first year teaching the class. Overall the class scored very poorly. The few kids who got 5’s (including my D) bought a study guide and self-studied in the weeks leading up to the test. The AP test prep forums on CC are great sources of info and study tips and review books cost just $10-$25.
Also, remember that in the vast majority of cases, AP scores are self-reported to admisisons offices on the Common App. They are not submitted through official score reports from the College Board to the admissions office. Therefore I am skeptical of the claim that AP scores are so important. If they were that important, admissions would not permit self-reporting.
My daughter had this her junior year with AP Calc AB - the new teacher was incompetent AND abusive (he was eventually fired that year). The administration, however, did acknowledge the damage he had done and students were allowed to either stay in class, leave the class, or study independently with an accredited online class. Those who stayed had to teach themselves on their own and many did very well, including my daughter. And that’s the main thrust: if you can show the grit necessary to overcome bad teaching and still succeed, a highly competitive school will be even MORE interested in you. Her counselor even wrote about the episode in her recommendation, as an example of her flexibility and resilience. She got into her first choice school ED – one of the most competitive in the country. It’s completely possible to do it. Just start now. Have your child and friends form study groups, maybe rope in someone (another teacher or a former student who did well previously) who can tutor them if possible. The more of the kids who cooperate and work together to overcome this problem, the more likely they will succeed.
I agree with the above comments; when my daughter was taking AP classes, much of the preparation she did was on her own with test prep books and online resources (Bozemanscience.com has excellent video series for AP Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Environmental Science).
AP teacher had to get major artery surgery halfway through Chemistry last year and never came back for my junior year. Replacement had to ask me for the chemistry online rubric and princeton review book to attempt to teach the class, as he had been retired for 30+ years…
Still got a 4 on the test, even though most of the class failed (because much of the test was on 2nd semester material). I hope it was on the GC rec sheet, but will accept that it probably was not mentioned. As others mentioned, self-studying made a huge difference!
My son’s APBio class was taught by “the only qualified teacher” at the school. Her method of “teaching” involved showing a VIDEO of another teacher teaching AP Bio. She wasn’t able to answer questions or help with labs. It was horrible, and my son felt very fortunate to get a “3” on the exam. If there isn’t a truly qualified teacher, the school has no business offering the AP class.
Thank you Dean - my son has a stretched-too-thin AP Chem teacher who hasn’t taught the subject in years - unfortunately, the longtime experienced teacher had a family emergency that caused her to resign last August. By November I ended up hiring a tutor for my son. It certainly means spending $ I didn’t anticipate doing this year, but the tutor has been absolutely worth it - my kid would not have finished with an A first semester without the extra teaching by our tutor (www.warpdrivetutors.com) - and now we are regularly using the tutor to supplement all the material not being taught so my son has a shot at a 4 or higher on the AP exam. I’m sure his school would NEVER consider waiving the AP exam. They never accept responsibility for weak faculty. I’ve figured this out - and hopefully this will be my only need for a tutor for my son.