It seems many of the boarding schools have adopted Physics first - then down the road, students can choose AP Physics or another AP science course. It’s also interesting to read from the posts that some schools have only 2 years of science and others have three at least, or even that Bio is an optional course - interesting. Hotchkiss is moving to Physics first. FWIW we hear that MPS has added Coding as a requirement in addition to math & science.
LPS is generally Earth Science-Bio-Chem-Physics with lots of wiggle room after Freshman year for those wishing to take an AP, double up, or add in/subsitute Anatomy.
Peddie starts with Chem and then generally goes to Bio and Physics although, again, there is room for play with APs, doubling up, science electives, etc.
FYI for anyone considering Choate, Choate no longer offers AP courses (and has been downplaying them for years).
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Bravo to Choate!! Wish others had the spine to do that =D>
A number of NE BS don’t offer AP courses, including SPS and PEA. Very few in PA, I believe. There was a CC thread on that not too long ago.
SAS dropped APs, too
Choate has been physics-first since 1980 at least. My physics teacher at Choate, over 35 years ago, went on to be a leading proponent of the physics-first sequence in public schools; he’s mentioned in this article from 2006, wherein he makes the point that the chief obstacle to making physics the core 9th grade science is the difficulty of recruiting qualified teachers who can teach the subject effectively to that age group. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/09/06/02physics.h26.html Well-resourced schools like Choate, with decades of experience teaching the sequence this way, don’t have any trouble making it work well.
Solebury School, which has long been recognized as good with kids with LDs, has always started with Physics. I am always interested in what these schools do because most of their strategies bebefit kids who don’t have LDs.
The sequence of physics->chem->bio is more scientifically and logically sound. However, the traditional sequence within physics education needs to be rethought and revised too. In order to build a foundation for the rest of physics (and yes, chemistry and biology), physics needs to be taught at the atomic level at the start, rather than a quick glance at the end within HS physics. Obviously, HS kids don’t yet have the math background, but the “physics” (i.e. the physical understanding) of atomic physics can be taught conceptually, descriptively and intuitively without the math.
The thing to keep in mind is that all of these schools offer science classes at the AP level or beyond. It’s not like the only 4th year options are oceanography and astronomy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I took astronomy (which was a fascinating class) and it’s not like it impacted college admissions. But I also had the opportunity to take quantum mechanics, which is a rarity in the HS curriculum, as is organic chem, which was also offered.
At most of these schools, the kids can still take the AP exam, even without the official course.
My D22’s day school in Providence is physics first and no AP courses as well. I believe it is the only school in RI with no official AP classes, although students do sit for tests like BS students. My D20’s history class is called honors but there’s an expectation that you take the test. Same with English I believe.
My kid’s school did not allow students to sit for AP exams unless they took the class. (I don’t know what their reasoning is, and I have to say I personally didn’t agree with that policy.)