I think that really depends on the school and the student. At my sons school, APs were classes like any of the other classes. It was a private college prep school and there weren’t easy options per se. He took Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, neither of which has an AP version, and they were as challenging as any other course. In fact for him, a person where math and science come easily, literature required more work due to the volume of reading. Personally, I look at APs like any other class.