<p>With all due respect, the “slippery slope” argument is rubbish. For example, many students (my daughter being one) take both the ACT and the SAT and submit only the higher score. Yet every selective college that I know of (as well as the common application) asks students to list both their SAT and ACT scores. Are these students being dishonest or proceeding down a slippery slope by only reporting the higher score? Of course not – most colleges make clear that they only consider the higher score anyway, so there’s no reason to list the lower score. Similarly, almost all colleges make clear that AP scores do not count for admissions – only for placement/credit – so why list the score if you don’t want to? </p>
<p>I can understand and appreciate (without necessarily agreeing with) the argument that an application that includes high AP scores may look better than one that does not, but I do not believe that a parent is even remotely encouraging a child to be dishonest or sending her down a “slippery slope” to cutting corners as an adult simply by advising her that if she’s not happy with her AP scores she doesn’t have to list them.</p>
<p>Have you ever checked the failure rate for AP exams? For most – particularly the humanities – at least 40% of the students who take the AP do not get at least a 3. Consequently, it’s not a big deal to get below a 3 on the exam.</p>
<p>If the students’ grades are high, but AP score is relatively low and if colleges even find out about the score before they admit her (which is up to your D since the scores are NOT sent automatically to colleges), the colleges could chalk up a low score to poor teaching or to your D simply having a bad testing day due to illness or some other problem.</p>
<p>If you look at the college board site in the research area (I think that’s in the Guidance Counselors section), you can find a PDF file that provides all sorts of statistical info on the 2005 AP results: how many students took each AP test, the pass rates for each test, and how students did by race and gender on the tests.</p>
<p>Certainly don’t judge your D’s performance by CC posts that say things like, “I got fives on 8 tests, but only a “4” on three tests. Will I have to go to a community college?”</p>
<p>“High APs usually reflect both a strong student PLUS a strong teacher.”
i highly agree with this </p>
<p>“Have you ever checked the failure rate for AP exams? For most – particularly the humanities – at least 40% of the students who take the AP do not get at least a 3. Consequently, it’s not a big deal to get below a 3 on the exam.”
yeah, and 40% of high school students don’t graduate</p>
<p>i agree with the sentiment that it’s best to send in scores. from what i have heard from colleges and my school’s counselor and various teachers, it does not look good if a student takes a course but does not take the test/report scores for the simple reason that it makes it seem as if the student took the class only for the highlight on the transcript and not that they actually learned anything from the course, also, many colleges do not take ap scores into consideration for admissions purposes</p>
<p>I’d say don’t send them if you don’t want to. My two specific comments–only in the rarified CC world would anyone think not listing scores means they’re low. Out here in Real World High School where my kids went, taking the tests was considered very optional. My kids only took half of the AP tests they could, didn’t seem to hurt them (one at top LAC, other at Ivy).</p>
<p>Two, I think the comment that not studying for an AP means they’re not ready for a rigorous college experience is beyond ludicrous! Mine do not study for standardized tests–after all, they’re supposed to show what you learned in classs, not what you can cram for. Again, didn’t seem to hurt them.</p>
<p>Do whatever ffeels best for you!</p>
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<p>Garland I totally agree with this statement and it is also especially when it comes to the SAT that all scores are not created equally as no one really knows what is behind the scores (years of cram school, multiple testing, paid tutors and other extensive prep). Do you really ever get a true picture of what the student is capable of doing?</p>
<p>we (or at least i) don’t know the exact situation of your kids, so the evidence you provide is very weak since for all any of us know your kids could have been some of the best candidates their respective schools had that year ap tests or not and thus would’ve gotten in regardless</p>
<p>“Mine do not study for standardized tests–after all, they’re supposed to show what you learned in classs, not what you can cram for”
not true in either sense, but whatever</p>
<p>the point of this thing is to figure out which course of action is better, though for any particular candidate, rejection or acceptance may be inevitable regardless of the course chosen</p>
<p>Nope, nothing about them that put them above other candidates–no hooks of any kind.</p>
<p>Yes, I gave anecdotes–just like all the rest of the speculating and specific examples on this thread.</p>
<p>It’s one more point of view, added to the mix.</p>
<p>And the comment I made about not studying was addressed to the assertion that not studying says something about the college readiness of the student, not whether the student will get into a given school. It was a side issue someone raised that I thought worth addressing.</p>
<p>"Mine do not study for standardized tests–after all, they’re supposed to show what you learned in classs, not what you can cram for. "</p>
<p>I think that’s a mistake. First – when it comes to things like SATs, it helps to know how to take the test because techniques that work for the SAT may not work for other exams. For instance, by studying for the SAT, students learn how to pace themselves through that particular test, and they learn that if they can narrow the right answers down to 2 or 3 choices, it’s best to guess instead of skipping the question because of how the test is scored.</p>
<p>By practicing for the SAT, students also learn how to remember things like: bringing a watch and a calculator – things that students who haven’t prepped for the test may not do – to their great disadvatnage.</p>
<p>As for the SAT IIs, prepping still can help, and I see no probs with that. After all, students study for exams that they take in school. Why shouldn’t they study for the SAT IIs – which, depending on how their class was taught – may cover some material their teachers didn’t cover.</p>
<p>Also, the SAT I to a great extent does NOT test students on what they learned in class. It originally was supposed to test students on their “scholastic aptitude,” but that part was dropped out of the name because it’s not true. Many students do wonderfully well on the SAT even though they are in middle school and haven’t been exposed to the material in classes. </p>
<p>The SAT also is a very weak predictor of college performance. The strongest factor predicting college performance is gpa.</p>
<p>However, many colleges still think the SAT is important, so to me it seems wise to at least encourage one’s kids to study for the test by reading over a study manual and taking a practice test under testing conditions.</p>
<p>Again, NSM, I specifically addressed whether not prepping said anything about them being college ready or not, not whether or not it’s a good idea. A poster had said that not studying for APs raised a question about whether the student belonged in a rigorous college. This is what I disagree with. I wouldn’t tell other students not to prep–it’s just not something mine did. Both of mine had (have) high college GPA’s.</p>