<p>Thank you everyone. Yes, H. Bio or regular Bio is required before taking AP Bio.</p>
<p>@sbjdorlo and IJD, thanks for the encouragement! We’ll look into some evaluation. D. will take AP lang this year and AP lit next year. It might be too late for her to take the SAT lit after AP. We’ll have to plan. I know schools like MIT require math and a science. But D. is not really interested in MIT and she is not going to do science in college. so math, history and lit would be good for her.</p>
<p>Seal, if kids who have taken regular Bio can take AP Bio and your D will have taken Honors Bio, I’d think she’d be in a good position to do well in the AP class. But of course it’s always safest to check with parents whose kids have been through the experience ;)</p>
<p>Another thought is that maybe your D will learn enough in Honors Bio to take the AP exam at the end of the year and self-study what she hasn’t learned. </p>
<p>I’m wondering why it is that kids who take honors bio don’t go on to the AP class if the honors or regular class is required first. Is it that there isn’t room for it in their schedules if they want Chem or Physics AP?</p>
<p>Hi 3girls3cats
They want Bio, Chem, Physics order. My D took H. Bio as a freshmen, she is taking chemistry at our local cc now, so the next step would be H. Physics ( she is will be taking pre-calculus this year) or AP Bio, AP Chem. Our school does not weight honors classes, just AP, so to boost her GPA she would prefer to take AP Bio vs. h. Physics B.</p>
<p>I’m always amazed at how these policies vary. D’s school also wants Bio then Chem then Physics, but there is a “regular” and a “pre-AP/pre-II” version of each one. The AP (or II) class can’t be taken without taking the regular course first, pre-AP or not. Some have a math requirement as well that would be unusual for a frosh or soph to have taken.</p>
<p>I know parents, mostly from here, whose kids were able to take the AP class *instead of *the honors or regular. I wonder what is different.</p>
<p>My daughter took honors bio in 9th grade and honors chem in 10 th grade. Those were the only options- no AP allowed. Junior year she is taking AP physics B without any prior physics. The only options are regular physics or AP physics- no honors. She will take AP bio senior year. Most kids from honors chem will be taking AP physics B. A few will take C, a few will take AP chem, and one or two will take AP marine bio even though it was recommended by guidance that they don’t. In our school they have a certain day where the kids meet with their teachers to discuss the next year’s recommendations. Some of the kids were recommended for AP chem instead of AP physics B because " they are not mature enough for physics." Why would a teacher say that and what does that mean? This year’s chem teacher had a lot of complaints from parents because she was mean and sarcastic. A big part of the problem was that these kids were not putting in the work and they were not getting A’s, and parents complained. My daughter did well and I kept my mouth shut.</p>
<p>So the other day I was cleaning some clutter ( not easy) and came across my older daughter’s " senior autobiographical record." This is basically a packet- about 10 pages- that gets filled out in February of junior year and handed back to guidance so that they can write up a letter of recommendation. Students and parents are permitted to put anything in this packet that they want colleges to know about. Half is for the students to complete, and half is for parents. For example, students are asked about their strengths and weaknesses, how they spend their summers, pertinent family information such as divorce etc that may impact grades, any scheduling conflicts that prevented you from taking a class, what did you enjoy most about high school, what are your accomplishments and activities, leadership, awards, special talents etc. The parents section asks you to describe your child’s personality, discuss his accomplishments awards etc, state how your child has grown since beginning hs, any unusual family issues, and it asks what you want a college admission’s officer to know about your kid. This packet was dated February of my older daughter’s junior year, which means this year we will be completing it again. I actually became emotional and teary eyed when I read this again. Kids in our school get a letter from guidance as well as from teachers.</p>
<p>At D’s school, kids usually take H Bio (9th), H Chem (10th), and IB Bio and/or IB Chem in Junior year. D is taking IB Bio and IB Chem this coming school year followed by Physics her senior year. I don’t think she will be taking AP Physics exam. </p>
<p>We got D’s SAT and ACT assessment results back today. As I expected she performed better on the ACT. It also shows she has a lot of work ahead of her. It’s going to be a long and hard Junior year.</p>
<p>^ what kind of assessment? Was it an actual test? I agree junior year will be long and hard Lol. Our school has had an IB program in place for about 8 years but in my opinion it has not taken off very well. Most of the higher level kids continue to take AP rather than IB. Our school allows anybody to take IB, which is odd considering it is supposed to be just as rigorous or even more rigorous than AP. Kids who are struggling in regular classes are allowed to be in the IB diploma program. I think the school is trying to improve the program as they really tried to market it this year to the honors kids.
We need to enjoy the rest of the summer - our kids have much work ahead of them.</p>
<p>Assessment is done by using retired SAT/ACT exams. The purpose is to find out your kid’s starting point (i.e., baseline) and also strengths and weaknesses. The results show the types of problem missed and the areas she did well. For example, for my D, I knew about her ACT Science issue but I didn’t know she had forgotten most of her algebra lessons from the 7th grade.</p>
<p>A baseline is good. With studying and practice she will continue to improve. When is she taking the tests?</p>
<p>Unlike many of the posters here, we don’t have a schedule (yet). We will wait and monitor her progress over the summer. She will take it when she is fully ready. I am hoping she can take it before January (self-imposed last month). She needs to switch over to AP exams starting Feb. She’s got 6 AP plus 2 IB SL exams next year. If she doesn’t do well by Jan, then we will push back to next summer.</p>
<p>OHMom, I also find it amazing how varied the approaches are. Can you imagine college admission counselors trying to keep it straight? :)</p>
<p>In my D’s school, physics is taught first then Chem and then Bio. Those are the required classes for graduation. An A- in the basic physics class allows a student to take honors chem and AP Physics B and some kids take these concurrently. Some wait for AP Physics C which is taken concurrently with calculus. After an A- in chem honors, the door is open to AP Chem. There is no AP Bio at this school though there is an advanced bio class offered after completion of basic bio that sounds very cool. D is mulling over which advanced science she will take senior year; her schedule doesn’t permit it during her junior year. </p>
<p>Twogirls, I am thoroughly dreading D’s junior year. It promises to be grueling. </p>
<p>FromMD, 6 APs wow. I’m shaking my head over all of you with kids taking that many AP classes! I think you are wise to take the year step by step and keep things open.</p>
<p>
Any place we can get old SAT subject exams? </p>
<p>Haven’t been here for a while. D. will come back from Cambridge soon. Then study should start soon. too many exams to come later this year.</p>
<p>The SAT Blue Book has real SAT tests. FromMD I can’t believe she is taking 6 AP classes- wow. My daughter has 2 AP classes and one IB HL class and I want her to be finished with testing by February/March so she can start reviewing. The remaining classes are honors ( US and pre calc).</p>
<p>Max - welcome back. I don’t know of any prep book that uses retired SAT II exams other than CB’s SAT II book. The problem, though, is it only has one (?) exam per subject. At least, that’s my understanding. </p>
<p>D is in IB program and will be taking 5 IB classes, 1 AP, and TOK (theory of knowledge) class her Junior year. Current plan is to take 6 AP exams (Cal BC, Chem, Bio, Spanish, Euro Hist, and Lit and Comp)… Whether she can do well is a totally different question. Time will tell.</p>
<p>The SAT Blue Book has 10 complete real SAT tests. FromMD-your daughter’s test schedule sounds very intense to me especially since it is combined with the IB program. How many HL classes does your school allow at once? I think ours allows 3- if you take 4 you need special permission and they don’t encourage it. Yes Maxwell welcome back!!</p>
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<p>Some sample questions - but not complete tests - here: <a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board;
<p>They’ll sell you this book with actual old tests: <a href=“https://store.collegeboard.org/sto/productdetail.do?Itemkey=009751[/url]”>https://store.collegeboard.org/sto/productdetail.do?Itemkey=009751</a></p>
<p>(Amazon has it cheaper, and the first edition cheaper still - also many libraries carry it)</p>
<p>If you google around there are a lot online, like these: [SAT</a> Subject Practice Tests, SAT Subject Test Study Guides | MyMaxScore.com](<a href=“http://www.mymaxscore.com/sat-subject-tests/sat-subject-practice-tests-sat-subject-test-study-guides.html]SAT”>http://www.mymaxscore.com/sat-subject-tests/sat-subject-practice-tests-sat-subject-test-study-guides.html)</p>
<p>I am sorry Maxwell I misread your question- I just realized that you are looking for old subject tests. Once again OhioMom comes to the rescue! It’s been a long day…</p>