He can take the language he is learning outside of school. But not the language he is learning at school.
What level would he start in, and what is the highest level offered, in the language he has some knowledge of and can continue?
Probably Level 4, but I assume the school would test him and not just take my word on it.
The school offers through 5 and then AP Lang and AP Lit so if I am right he could take 4 years.
Not sure why AP Lang and AP Lit are mentioned here. Are you thinking they’d be considered foreign language classes? Those are typically 3rd and 4th year English classes.
Assume she was referring to AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature
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I would say do 1-2 weighted and the rest unweighted. GPA is the most important consideration so you need to make sure he is not dragged down starting Freshman year. At the same time rigor is important so taking some of these classes is important. It’s a balance and based on performance this year, you can figure out how many more weighteds that he wants to take on next year. Because colleges will expect more weighteds as high school continues. By junior year, almost all should be weighteds for competitive schools.
PS: How is painting weighted at your school? Only art class that I have ever heard weighted are the 3 AP Art Classes, AP Music Theory, and AP Art History.
Do other languages not have AP Lang and AP Lit?
Yes, in his case the language is Spanish.
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AP Spanish is the only one besides English to have both, though Spanish Lit is one of the least taken AP courses. All other languages offered by AP are just language.
French used to offer both APs, but I think Lit is no longer available due to declining demand. So for French, it’s just AP Lang (or maybe that’s just at my kids’ HS? But I suspect that if AP French Lit were available, it would be offered.).
There is no French literature. Complete AP exam list: AP Courses and Exams – AP Students | College Board
Hence why the user said used to offer.
French and German used to have both a language and a literature exam. Latin used to have 2 exams, with one called Latin Literature. Nowadays, only Spanish Literature remains
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So he wants to game the gpa system and try to win, and he is also intense. If he is that much of a gamer, he will have already run the different math algorithms for his gpa goals. I am being somewhat sarcastic, but if he is that type he won’t need your help at all so just step back and let him pick everything.
However: if he is really that intense then he would be much better served digging into the most interesting courses that are also challenging for that intensity. That will hopefully be far more fulfilling for him, leaving little space for gpa math, which really is a fruitless endeavor!
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Ah, got it. Thanks. I’d argue that this is foreign language overkill. Selective schools want 4 years of FL or through level 4.
I said “used to.” No longer.
It’s not overkill if there’s enough demand and students want to go that far. If a student wants to continue studying the language (and possibly study abroad), more AP credit can allow the student to start at a higher level in college. Not overkill at all for students who want that.
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Our district weights almost all the classes.
I’ll just toss in that at this point, I have consumed an enormous (some would say obviously unhealthy) amount of material involving AOs for selective colleges talking in some way about what they are looking for during college admissions.
And I truly cannot think of a single time any has said they really care about how a high school weights their classes when calculating a GPA. They definitely talk about things that are very vaguely similar–challenging yourself across all the core areas, making use of the advanced classes available to you, “rigor” in general, and so on. And they will look to things like school reports and such to help them understand what choices were available and what choices the kid made.
But that specific issue of how the high school weights grades? I may be forgetting something, but I seriously cannot recall that ever being a thing they said they care about.
So my point is while it is fine to think in terms of challenging yourself (reasonably), I would personally never care about what that meant in terms of a weighted GPA, not for selective college admissions purposes at least.
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And I’d argue that not everything needs to be done just because a college “likes” it. I have no idea how this schools structures 1-4, nor do you, but AP Lang and AP Lit have set curriculums (curricula) and after completion, the student still won’t be proficient if that’s the extent of their Spanish. The more coursework, the better for increased proficiency regardless of what anyone’s minimum requirement is.
I would argue that AP Spanish Lit isn’t the best follow-up course to AP Spanish Language, but that’s a separate conversation, and likely a moot point, since few high schools offer alternatives.
Of course, the kid may also be satisfied with just meeting the minimum requirement and being able to order a taco. But miles to go.
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I’m a high school teacher who doesn’t like chasing GPA; however, I wouldn’t discourage any student who wants to “game the system” to earn higher grades. If gaming the system motivates them to work harder, why not? What I observe is that the students who sign up for my classes on their own put in more effort than those who sign up because “my mom told me to”.
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He has definitely done all the GPA math calculations.