<p>What I see missing here is a concept of productivity during study time. You can make a course grueling, give lots of homework to hand in, make the average grade a C… none of this means the students are learning more than a class with a clear concise lecturer and minimal homework.</p>
<p>Or you can be even more efficient by customizing a course (usually by self-studying, although a private tutor is a wonderful luxury). By this method you assess what you already know, and then study to fill in the gaps, and then practice it all up to speed. </p>
<p>My DS has taken 7 AP exams by this method, with 5’s on all. Total time spent on the year-long AP courses ranged from about 30 hours (which included about 10 hours of very fine tutoring) to 90 hours (learned mainly from online free lectures). Overall, this is a two to five-fold increase in productivity over sitting in a classroom.</p>
<p>You would think this results in an attitude of just wanting to take the quick way out, but the opposite seems to be true. With the removal of external pressure, DS seems to adopt even higher standards as a matter of pride. To quote DS, “In my AP classes I just want a 5 on the exam, but when I study on my own I want to be able to get every question right.”</p>
<p>Looking for opportunities for not just maximum learning, but also maximum efficiency frees up more time for ultimate frisbee, leisure reading, music, sleepovers, i.e. a social and personal life.</p>