<p>My daughter is taking the SAT 2’s on June 1st. Is there a reason why you are taking them in May? Does your school year end early?</p>
<p>twogirls, I’m not sure if your question was directed to me or not, but I’ll answer for me: I had wondered earlier whether it would be a “bad” thing to have D take the SAT 2 for APUSH at the early May sitting. My concern was that she wouldn’t be particularly motivated to study for the June 1 test, since it was being administered 2-3 days after the end of the semester, when she might be burned out from exams for school. That was really my only reason for considering the earlier May exam date, but her APUSH teacher recommended she take the June test, so she agreed to that.</p>
<p>Thanks Suzy that’s what I thought- that your school year ended earlier than ours. Our year ends on June 21, with the possibility of going on the 24th if we have a snow day. We would have to do “Sandy make up days” since we were closed for over a week.</p>
<p>twogirls until she decides on what to do with this certificate program she signed on for but has only taken one class towards I am not sure what her classes will be. If she leaves that program she will probably add a history and additional foreign language. She can only take Precalc Honors next year for math-maybe she can take AP Prob and Stats as well but that might only be offered to seniors. I clearly need more information-and I try and stay on top of this!</p>
<p>sally sorry to hear about your school issues. I am starting to think the delay in scheduling this year is because they are going to cut offerings at the HS-it is hard when there is such uncertainty.</p>
<p>Oh- it get’s better this morning, the school board has taken an injunction out against the Governor to stop him from removing them from the board. The tax payers are paying for this law suit. On a county with a serious budget deficit this is ridiculous.</p>
<p>Pepper - we also are having classes cut. Classes can’t operate without I think 18 ( maybe higher) students next semester. This will be tough on classes like AP Latin, German and even AP Chem at our school. I hope the administration can get creative for these students. Maybe combining classes with another HS. If not, I fear we will lose these students to private schools.</p>
<p>Sally and Pepper - I’m really sorry to hear about the budget crunches affecting the top courses at your HS. So discouraging. :(</p>
<p>^^Me too. We are experiencing them at D’s high school as well, due to state budget cuts that really impacted the school. They are going to run a levy in the spring, but even if that passes we will see cuts to a lot of great programs, including the wonderful orchestra program and to language offered - they will cut Latin, Arabic and Chinese. They will also be upping the fees for all athletic programs and cutting more bus service as well. It’s just a shame.</p>
<p>ETA: these aren’t nearly as bad as others are experiencing. Sally, that sounds like you guys are headed for a gigantic and expensive mess.</p>
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<p>In science courses (e.g., Chem) our students usually take the honors class and then the AP. But in the humanities it’s either regular or AP, no honors.</p>
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<p>Due to budget cuts, our district cuts classes unless they can fill at least 32 seats. There were 51 in D1’s AP chem, in a lab room designed for 32. Not a happy-making situation!</p>
<p>D will take 4 APs plus Spanish 4 and orchestra. This was not our original plan but AP Government was a senior class and now it’s a junior class, and she really really likes that teacher, so she’s doing it.</p>
<p>She had thought to double up on science and take it easy with social studies, but now she can do that senior year, I suppose.</p>
<p>We don’t have honors, just AP and regular. We have dual enrollment options with 4 different colleges and some of those are very hard and some are very easy.</p>
<p>We have regular, honors, AP, IB, college classes from several schools including Syracuse and SUNY, and classes through the community college. It can get a bit overwhelming.</p>
<p>mihcal, your high school must be a big one. 51 in AP chem! My D’s AP chem class this year has 8 people and that’s typical. It’s not a popular class because it’s hard. Still, the size of the class tells the size of the school. The good thing is they get good attention from the teacher. Also she really likes her class, because it consists some of the best seniors and juniors. Even though it’s hard work, and even though chem is not what she wants to do in the future, she thinks it’s worth it.</p>
<p>For those whose kids have taken or are taking APUSH…what was the general opinion about the amount of homework?</p>
<p>collegemaw - I think the general consensus is that APUSH has a pretty big homework load. My son is all set for his schedule. There just is never enough time to fit everything in! He’s taking econ over the summer and may take govt the following summer to free up time for theater and choir. He’d be happy if that’s all he took. He still haven’t found an academic direction he’s excited about.</p>
<p>collegemaw, at D’s school it totally depends on the APUSH teacher. Her teacher does not seem to assign too much homework, but he’s a really hard grader. The other teacher assigns a lot of essays and seems to be more geared toward prep for the AP test, but is an easier grader. I hope my D will have been properly prepared for the test.</p>
<p>So sandwiched among the college solicitations for D was an expensive-looking invitation to attend the Brandeis Global Youth Summit this summer. Tuition: $3000; but if D eventually enrolls as a freshman at Brandeis, she gets $3000 off the tuition! Does this program have any redeeming educational value, or is it the blatent money grab and marketing tool it appears?</p>
<p>My D’s APUSH teacher barely gives any homework at all. But if you don’t work REALLY hard, you’re guaranteed to fail. I kind of like that approach. It gives a lot of responsibility to the students. Her class is all juniors and seniors. (she is the only sophomore in the class.) time to grow up. It requires a lot of reading. He gives many quizzes. One test in one marking period. (2 months or so.) Last year when she took AP gov, there was huge amount of homework and projects. The history teacher this year is very different.</p>
<p>Hi, I am new to this thread. Just trying to get some idea on how many AP tests your kids are taking this year (May 2013)? Your kids planning on taking any other tests before Junior year? My D is getting ready for her AP this May but not planning on any other tests until Oct PSAT.</p>
<p>Mine is doing two SAT2s. She also did one last year.</p>
<p>Welcome FromMD! My D is just taking one AP test this year - APUSH. She will take the SATII for US History at the beginning of June. She MIGHT take the ACT in early September. If not, then no other tests here before the PSAT.</p>
<p>Thank you twogirls and suzy;</p>
<p>We decided againt taking SAT II until Junior year. It’s interesting to see you have taken a different path. Makes me wonder if we should reconsider. D has taken one AP last year and aiming for a couple more this May. PSAT in Oct followed by ACT/SAT end of 2013.</p>