<p>GFG - do you think that is appropriate (for an AP course to be more difficult than any course a student might take at a well-respected university)?</p>
<p>I teach an AP course, in which most students earn C grades. There are no prerequisites in my school, and nothing between AP and regular coursework (no “medium” honors level). The few students who earn an A probably spend 6-8 hours a week in preparation. But as I mentioned in an earlier post, we do not offer many AP classes, and most students only have two. I think our only “hard” AP courses are bio and calc, and my class (meaning the teachers of other APs really do not require much). I really feel confident that the depth and breadth of learning of my stronger hard-working students is equal to what they would get in a quality first-year survey course, but I don’t think it is harder. </p>
<p>I do get a fair amount of pressure from parents who expect their kids to get high grades. I tell them at the beginning of the year that most students tend to earn Cs, and that I think that is a reflection of their developmental readiness to do college level work as 16-year-olds. Frankly, I would say at least a third of them would be better served in a mid-level honors course, be we do not have one.</p>
<p>I’m the one who said in an earlier post that top students in our school often get some of their work done in other classes…but they know better than to try it in mine. I didn’t mean to recommend the tactic, it was just an observation about something that I know occurs.</p>