Self-study for 7th and 8th graders

ridethewave
Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:05:02 +0000

XLBC, you would lose that bet. It is very, very rare, but it does happen.

APs in middle school aren’t the best way to provide academic challenge. In fact, I would argue that they are not the best way to provide academic challenge in general. But an AP exam score can be a great way to document someone’s academic competence and ability; it’s the difference between saying “I’m really good at math” and “I got a 5 on the Calc BC exam.”

If you are dealing with a radically advanced student, it helps to have some tangible proof of ability. You, XLBC, are hardly the only person who doubts that a thirteen-year-old is ready for college-level work. Appropriate scores on APs or SATs help eliminate that doubt.

But the original poster seems interested in APs for their middle-schoolers more as a way to get a jump on college applications. I think that is a waste of time and effort, energy that would be better directed toward a hobby, a sport, a service activity, or reading lots and lots of good books.