We have the same scenario as @elena13. Part of the issue with us is the IB program in 11th and 12th, so they try to get the state Econ requirement in 10th grade. That pushes both Econ and Gov APs in the 10th grade. They also push AP Lang as the best prep for IB Lang. The 9th graders get an option to do accelerated Bio and Chem all in 1 year, in exchange for a commitment to take either AP Bio or AP Chem in 10th.
Hands down AP Chem in the 10th grade was like 5 classes. Only slight exaggeration.
So 10th grade was 4 APās and the school pays for 1 test. I put my foot down when I saw how few schools even accepted Macroeconomics without Micro. Plus, Language is not her gift. Take the test for the classes you love.
I didnāt know there were different versions of the tests. D19ās class must have gotten the harder physics one. At least, I hope so considering how the boys were talking on the way home. But he has been saying for months he didnāt think his teacher was preparing them well for the exam, so that could also be the case. Weāll see.
Our school does not publish any AP result data or metrics, all that is on the profile is which AP and Honors classes are offered.
S19 has double APās today, Calc followed by CS. Felt good about both versus meh about physics last week. AP Lang tomorrow and then done with those for the year thank goodness.
Math at our school mostly tracks in MS except for the gifted program and they are a track ahead typical advanced math strudent would be in precalc this year and AP Calc AB next. Very few kids make it to BC, the district forces AB first. You can try to skip it but only senior year which is what my nephew is going to try next year. Otherwise kids have to double up or take something over the summer.
@Trixy34 my d is not in physics but knows people who are from her Calc class. She said even the super smart kids who are great at math felt like they did awful on the physics AP exam.
@eandesmom my d has Lang today and is dreading it. She says there is one person from her class that decided not to take the exam. I think she is wishing she had chosen that as well. She doesnāt feel prepared for this at all and itās made her hate reading. Iām really glad she opted to not take AP Lit next year, or she would probably never willingly crack a book open ever again!
D19 also took the BC exam yesterday at our public school (we homeschool). She thought it was harder than the released practice tests, and she also had form O. My S17 also came out of his BC exam a few years ago thinking the test was more difficult than the practice tests, but ended up with a 5. I hope the curve on the O version is generous this time too.
My daughter was surprised to see that there was only one other girl taking the exam yesterday at the school.
Good luck to your daughter @mom2twogirls
This is exactly what happens. The top schools tell everyone they want to see students take the most rigorous classes available and so the pressure keeps ratcheting higher. If someone manages to take Calc in 9th grade, suddenly everyone needs to do it because otherwise you arenāt taking the most rigorous classes available. Of course, its NOT necessary to shoot for the top 10 schools in the country and so its really not necessary to take on this kind of rigor unless you actually LOVE those classes. I think its just a hard thing to wrap your head around for kids who have always been told to shoot for the best and for parents who assume that they need to shoot for the top. Iām not saying that these classes shouldnāt be available to the kids that crave that kind of stimulation. Iām saying that families need to help their children take the classes that are appropriate for them and not feel badly about themselves if their friends are taking calculous in utero and they are taking 9th grade math in 9th grade.
At our school, there are no honors classes in most core subjects after a certain level. In English, itās English 1 honors then English 2 honors and then AP Lang. In history, kids can take either APUSH or regular level US history. No other option to fulfill that requirement. In math, we donāt have a calc honors class, just AP. And, in foreign language, most kids took a FL in middle school so start freshman year in level 2. If you take the honors series, you end up in AP Spanish, French, etc. Science is a little different as we have honors classes for all sciences except Physics which is only reg Physics or AP.
Soā¦while there may be a little pressure to keep up with the other kids, itās also a fact that honors type kids have little choice once they are upper classmen. Most of their classes would be AP. Our school weighs honors and AP classes the same Iād rather the school offer more honors and less AP so the kids arenāt being ātaught to a testā. S19 has only taken four APs so far and Iām not a huge fan. Teachers under so much pressure to prep the kids and I know they rush through material that they would rather deep dive on.
Next year, S19 chose against taking AP Lit in order to take a honors Writing Seminar that the kids have to test into. School only takes 30 kids for two classes of 15 students. His Multivariable calc class is also not AP as such a class doesnāt exist. He will end up with eight APs total which is probably average for the top decile at our school.
Itās not just kids, it can be teachers as well. My dās AP Lang teacher told the class that if they didnāt take AP Lit next year, it will look like they are slacking off as seniors. So obnoxious. The school also offers a number of DE English electives that can be taken instead of AP Lit senior year. Not to mention a good chunk of the kids she was saying this to will be taking 1-2 AP Sciences, DE Calc 3, AP Gov, and other tough courses.
Luckily, my d isnāt really that impressed by her schoolās English teachersā opinions on college admittance (as an example, another recently tried to convince her that since NY has the excelsior scholarship, that means private schools will be more affordable and that she would get a better job if she goes to a private college).
Ours isnāt even a super competitive school district like some kids here are in. I canāt even imagine the pressure they face.
@mom2twogirls Agreed on your point about the teachers and staff opinions. Even when a student tests into all honors/AP, it doesnāt mean they should always choose that path.
Our D21 is being pressured by her GC to stay in all honors for sophomore year but she has been so overloaded freshman year with homework plus ballet that we decided to pull back on the math track. She will also not take the highest level science next year. She will keep the honors/AP classes in the subjects sheās interested in and keep a study hall during Nutcracker season when sheās at rehearsal or shows for 35 hours a week. There needs to be a balance. Does she have friends taking all honors and AP? Of course. But sheās realistic and I donāt want her up late at night stressing about homework. Sheās feeling some relief that her schedule next year was more thoughtfully planned than freshman year.
Good luck to your daughter, @mom2twogirls My son is taking Lang this morning too, then Macro this afternoon, then done! Done, done done. Of course, he has a big paper to write for Lang, but for the rest of his classes, he can kind of just coast for the rest of the year.
Yes my fingers are crossed that D has a nice smooth ending to this school year with her three AP classes coasting into the finish line. I do find it interesting to see how different schools have the kids progress through sequences. Ours has all the honors-level kids taking APEC as sophomores, which is a beast of an introduction to AP coursework. D19 took APEC last year and did well but she used to love history and she says these two AP history classes drummed that out of her. I think she might appreciate the skills she gained more in retrospect when sheās a bit older. Students in APUSH had to write three lengthy papers, one each trimester, on different aspects of the same topic. D chose what sounded like the most boring topic possible, āPuritan life and cultureā, but she loved it ā and it was broad enough that she could really explore its influence across time.
With APs out of the way, thoughts turn to pinning down her final grades of course. We are on trimesters so itās her third set of grades for the year. Then sheās gearing up to āpop the questionā to her two letter writers. Iām ignoring her GC who said to only ask ājunior or senior yearā teachers. For one thing, sheās emphasizing applying early, so she will have known a senior year teacher for a whopping two months. She really clicked with her Honors Humanities teacher last year and thatās who weāre going with, unless I see anywhere that a school insists on only junior year or later teachers.
What are kids doing for the summer? D will be busy all summer. Sheās doing a special-interest institute in DC for 6 days in late June. Spending three weeks in July volunteering at a childrenās museum. Then doing a choir camp on a local college campus for a week. Sheās hoping to spend a week living with her grandma, which sheās done the last couple of summers as well. I know she likes it there because itās like a vacation where she doesnāt have to lift a finger. 
Thatās fine ā Iām glad she still wants to spend time with her grandma. And at some point, she and I will go alone to visit campuses. The problem is that I could justify visiting seven different schools or even more, in various parts of the country. So Iām having a hard time pinning down where to go.
Anyone interested in College of the Holy Cross? Theyāre having an admissions live chat this afternoon. D will be checking that out.
D19 is spending the summer with a 20 hr a week, 5weel long research thing. Other than that, itās prepping for the August SAT and (fingers and toes crossed) doing a lot of driving practice to try for the license by September.
D2 is spending the summer doing research in a lab. Hopefully, she will have Mondays free for some relaxation.
Still havenāt cemented summer plans - dd doesnāt want to talk until APs are done. Likely take a few courses at the community college down the street and maybe a week at an try out industrial design course at a nearby univ. She keeps talking about getting a job but doesnāt do much more than talk. Neighbor with a pottery painting studio is interested in her trying out working for her.
DS19 is taking a week long art camp at Furman University and pet sitting. Planning on taking a vacation in July to St Augustine to tour Flagler College.
I just have a vague sense that summer is approaching, so not a lot of solid plans yet. S19 will be doing a 2 week leadership thing at Brown. Seems incredibly boring to me, but he chose that over what sounded like a really cool architecture program in Chicago, so he must have a plan. And, of course his program doesnāt run during the two-week period that would end just two days before our arrival day at our rental on Cape Cod. So, we will be doing the 12-14 hour round trip twice this summer. He might go to California with his Dad to visit family. And, of course weāll fit in some college visits.
I would really like him to find a job, but I donāt know how feasible that is with him being away for at least 4 weeks.
I find it so interesting to see the differences in our high schools. When I hear about the IB program in @elena13 and @peachActuary73ās schools pushing APās into the lower grades, I feel grateful that we donāt have IB, and AP is restricted. I do wish, like @homerdog that we had more Honors options as they have been some of my Dās favorite classes. She has had great experiences creating her own projects (research, documentaries, presentations etc.).
@mom2twogirls D needs to get in a ton of hours behind the wheel this summer too! Sheās had her learnerās permit since late September and has clocked a whoppingā¦11 hours, where 50 are required. Sheās not super into it and Iām honestly too terrified, so we rely on DH to take her out and itās just not happening often enough. None of her friends got their licenses right on time as they turned 16, but theyāre gradually all finally doing it as they turn or get close to 17.
Research in the summer is a great thing to do! I attended a workshop in January at a college consulting company and they made it clear that working in a lab was the ābestā, of a series of āgood, better, bestā opportunities for the summer.
My S21 will be having a Boy Scout-focused summer. Iām honestly ready for him to diversify and maybe semi-retire from scouting, but heās still going strong so this summer for him will be all BSA. Heās going on three camping or backpacking trips. Then a biggie will be working on his Eagle project. Heās identified a project but itās not going to be easy and I think may get scaled down. Weāll see.
Saw this during a down patch while proctoring yesterday. College essays from this year chosen by the NY Times. Supposed to address the topic of money/socioeconomic status I believe. Definitely all smoothly written. Iām going to have D read some of these successful essays to get her creative juices flowing this summer. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/your-money/college-essay-topic-money-social-class.html
D19 looked so beat at the dinner table last night that I didnāt to even broach the topic of how the Calc AB test went. Oh well ā the score is whatever it will be. She is in the middle of almost a month-long stretch of tests and other obligations ā finals for the next week or so, then a huge performing arts showcase, performing at graduation, and a couple SAT subject tests the next dayā¦
ā¦ which means that her progress in essentially cold-calling the local university to try to get some lab experience this summer is probably nil. Iād love for her to just see what itās like entering data or whatever menial task sheād have to do as a college freshman (and not in an ironic way ā it would be valuable, Iām sure). If that doesnāt happen, sheās going to work 5-7 hours a week where sheās currently working 2-3 hours a week, and we might see if thereās something else to track down. And Iād love for her to think about how she can deepen her science expertise without being in a lab.
Frankly, she should probably spend a little time working on her college stuff - studying for an SAT retake, playing around with application materials. And she should definitely have some downtime, too.
[Edited to add: Oh, and finish off her driving school/get her license! ā @SDCounty3Mom your D sounds exactly like my D in this regardā¦]
I feel a little bad as I donāt remember being anywhere near this scheduled the summer before my senior year, and I feel like weāre actively trying to keep her summer somewhat relaxingā¦