AP Tests

[TXMary2]

AP tests are for Jr.'s and Sr's correct? My son is a few years away, but I am thinking ahead. What would be the purpose of taking the AP tests? Is there an advantage to take those over CLEP testing? My oldest already graduated and will be doing several CLEP tests to get more of his gen. ed. courses out of the way. He already completed 3 courses through dual enrollment. My middle son is currently in 8th grade and will likely attend college locally--they all accept CLEP. How do AP courses/testing differ from dual enrollment or just CLEPping out?

[Sharon in MD]

Some schools like to see AP's as evidence of advanced work. Students taking on challenging material and such. But if the schools you are interested in will accept cleps to move some of the gen ed requirements along, I'd go that route instead. And, have them take the clep as soon as they have finished the course, don't wait till they are jr or sr. My son cleped bio and got 8 credits out of it. He was going to Clep Western Civ, but he doesn't really need it, so we decieded to let that one go. My personal opinion is that CLEPs are easier than AP tests and you can schedule them at almost any university or CC. For APs you have to test at a school on a particular day....alot more hassle.

[TXMary2]

Some schools like to see AP's as evidence of advanced work. Students taking on challenging material and such. But if the schools you are interested in will accept cleps to move some of the gen ed requirements along, I'd go that route instead. And, have them take the clep as soon as they have finished the course, don't wait till they are jr or sr. My son cleped bio and got 8 credits out of it. He was going to Clep Western Civ, but he doesn't really need it, so we decieded to let that one go. My personal opinion is that CLEPs are easier than AP tests and you can schedule them at almost any university or CC. For APs you have to test at a school on a particular day....alot more hassle.

 

 

OK- so as long as he isn't planning on some fancy college where AP classes would be impressive, it doesn't matter? He will either start at a CC or apply to a local state university that accepts CLEP.

[Sharon in MD]

I think APs can be perhaps more helpful to children in traditional schools where they are differencing themselves from the pack. I personally think that CLEPing a course is usually easier than getting a high enough AP test score to be granted the opportunity to skip that course.

 

Actually that is another reason to perhaps not go the AP route. Not all colleges actually grant credits for AP courses. They may allow you to skip to Calculus 102 vice 101, but not actually grant the 4 hours of credit. This seems to vary from school to school as I recall.

 

However, CLEP is actually given credits as far as I know. We did not have our son try to take the AP for Calculus or Chemistry or Physics because he is going into engineering and we felt that it was important to take the 101 levels of those courses at the school he were he expects to get his degree. We felt it was better to get a solid foundation and an A than to leap ahead and maybe miss something or get a poor grade.

 

CLEPing can be a big money saver for some kids. In our son's case though, he just didn't have many gen ed requirements so we didn't see a way to really save much that way. His courses are almost entirely proscribed by his major. So the only thing we could really save was the Bio course.

 

But, back to the point. I don't think there is any real advantage to AP. I think for your purposes CLEP is probably better.

[Blue Hen]

AP tests are for Jr.'s and Sr's correct?

 

No, AP tests can be and are taken by 9th and 10th graders. I've heard of 8th graders taking AP tests however I'm not sure whether you need to request the College Board to keep the scores on the child's record for an extra year or two or not.

 

This was one mistake I made with my DS. If I knew then what I know now I would have had him take an AP or two in 9th grade rather than waiting until 10th grade to take his first AP course. He would have taken 2 or 3 in 10th grade instead of just one. This is a child who is advanced and was ready to take AP level courses in 9th grade but mom (me) didn't know that he could do this.

 

The university my DS will most likely be attending does not accept clep and the CC is too far from home to make it a reasonable alternative which are two reasons we went the AP route.

[MomsintheGarden]

There are several main differences between CLEPs and APs:

- Not all subjects are covered by each format. For instance, there are two types of AP Physics tests, but no CLEP Physics. CLEP offers a College Algebra exam, while AP does not. Compare the offerings and see what works for you.

- APs are 3-hour exams; CLEPS are 90 minutes.

- APs have multiple-choice questions + free response questions. Most CLEPs have only multiple choice questions, but a few require or have optional essays - see http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/prep_hint_e.html.

- APs are only offered once a year in May; CLEPs can be taken anytime.

- You may take an AP test again, but you must wait until the next year; there is a 6-month wait to retake a failed CLEP test.

- CLEPs ($72 for the test + $30 usually for administration) are slightly more expensive than APs ($86).

- CLEPs are taken exclusively on the computer, even the essays (good typing skills are a must for these exams); APs are strictly pencil and paper tests, although an ink pen is required for all free response questions.

- You must order an AP through a high school several months in advance. For us, we only need to reserve a computer for a CLEP at a local college about a week in advance.

- I do not know which is more widely accepted, but I believe that APs are a safer way to go if you have an undecided student.

 

The most important thing to do is to make absolutely sure that the student's college will accept them for useable credit. Even if a community college accepts CLEP, you must be careful to check that the 4-year school to which your student may transfer will accept them as well. Also, you must dig into the degree requirements for a particular major to see if a particular test will apply. This often difficult if you have a young student who has not yet made up his mind about his degree.

 

Credit does not always equal applicable credit.

 

GardenMom

[Blue Hen]

APs are strictly pencil and paper tests, although an ink pen is required for all free response questions.

 

Excellent outline of the differences between Clep & AP MomsintheGarden. One change should be to the above statement. An ink pen is not required for all free reponse questions on the AP exams. For instance the AP Statistics FRQ does not require an ink pen.

 

Carole

[MomsintheGarden]

Excellent outline of the differences between Clep & AP MomsintheGarden. One change should be to the above statement. An ink pen is not required for all free reponse questions on the AP exams. For instance the AP Statistics FRQ does not require an ink pen.

 

Carole

Thanks Carole!

 

I missed this blurb from the College Board, under what to bring on exam day.

 

 

• Black or dark-blue ballpoint pens for free-response questions in most exams.
  

So which exams do not require a ballpoint pen - and where can I find the info? My dc have taken Eng Language, Chemistry, Calculus AB, and Microecon and have used a pen for all of their FRQs. This spring dd will be taking Eng Lit, Physics C (both), and Calculus BC. Will they be able to use a pencil on any of these?

 

I always thought a ballpoint pen was required so the tests could be copied. I wonder what the real reason is.

 

Thanks!

GardenMom

[Blue Hen]

This spring dd will be taking Eng Lit, Physics C (both), and Calculus BC. Will they be able to use a pencil on any of these?

 

I know a pen is required for the Eng Lit (DS took that one last spring) but I don't know about the other three. My DS will be taking those 3 this spring too.

 

Carole

[Blue Hen]

I contacted the College Board with the question:

Is a pen required for the following AP FRQ?

 

Physics C -- both exams

Calculus BC

Chemistry

Biology

 

 

Here's their answer, recommended but not required.

 

Thank you for contacting AP Services.

 

For the Physics C -- both exams, the Calculus BC exam and the Chemistry exam, the manual recommends using either pencil or pen with black or dark blue ink during the free-response questions.

 

For the Biology exam, the manual recommends using pen with black or dark blue ink during the free-response questions.

 

Thank you for your inquiry. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you. If you have additional questions about this issue, please do not hesitate to write us again. Your e-mail should include all previous messages you have received about this issue so we can provide the best possible service.

 

Sincerely,

AP Services

[Piano&ViolinMom]

QUOTE : "I contacted the College Board with the question:

Is a pen required for the following AP FRQ?"

Thank you GardenMom and Carole, for bring this issue to my attention. My son took 2 AP tests (AP Calculus, AP Music Theory) as a 9th grader last May. I do not have any memory about this, so I don't think we had advised him to bring a pen with him for AP tests then.