I’m bothered by a couple of things including how boring these books are.

While I’m not a constitutional attorney, the federal government has ways to impose standards on states if there was a political will to do so.. You know, “voluntarily”, via federal funds/appropriations. As it is, we depend on private entities such as colleges and college board to enforce some sort of standard.

The AP essays/FRQs are tested by actual people. So it costs more $. So we could have a government exam that’s free, I suppose, but I take it we wouldn’t jump with both feet there either. Access to test sites is a real issue. That is absolutely my complaint, too.

I don’t know because I don’t classically educate but DS has taken a couple classes at our public 4 year and the Bible has figured prominently in 2 out of 2 English classes. One had a ridiculously detailed study of the book of Job and the other one selections from the gospels and genesis. I will say DS was prepared for most books (Dante, Paradise Lost etc) just not those. The Bible was totally completely foreign to him and quite difficult to read. So I wish I had introduced the myths.

Well in this very thread we are complaining about the discontinuation of a one hour, multiple choice test in favor of...gasp! Essay based exams. God-forbid. There’s prep books on every last Bac topic, by every last publishing company. No one is complaining about curriculum control, bc you know, Balzac every year 😉 oh and if you’re hankering for such an exam for French, have kiddo take the Delf. Oral exam and some bantering by not one but two examiners. 🤷‍♀️

Sorry I was not talking about your post specifically. My DS had sat2 registrations that were cancelled, I also want to complain away. I just get the feeling we can’t decide what we want, here. (And that, and the following, isn’t directed to you). I mean it’s a big country with a vast diversity of high school experiences. Unless we want colleges to lean on their feeder schools, which is what they seem to be doing in larger extent than ever this year, we have to be okay with some manner of testing.

So...genuinely curious: what would you test? Or are we not okay with a test at all? AP last I checked doesn’t have proscribed curriculum, there are any number of texts that would do. Pretty sure you don’t need a text, a great courses along with the pdf would do too.I mean European history is what it is and I guess math is math? How far afield can one go? Because even schools that have righteously and publicly scorned the APs, well their students take the test, and the school administer them. It didn’t stop me from assigning a few things for AP euro which I’m pretty sure have never been ass

Say, if we had a viable state or federal exam for example?

It’s a private corporation, of course they do. I find it funny that we are anti test, anti common core, anti-“big-government” and then begrudge a private entity for acting like one.

Could not agree more on the need for APs. They’re not college classes of nothing else because they take all year long to cover what’s covered in a semester. The curve is also something else (I’m pretty sure for a, what, 82% or whatever it is would not be an A in most college classes. Issue is that the government needs to do this, not a private company. It’s just this SAT subject test discontinuation is so cynical but in fact exactly what one would expect of a private company, cutting an underperforming product. APs, well, one criteria for rating public schools is “AP participation” so they

Would be interested in hearing how she reviewed, very many thanks.

Does Spielvogel have US history in that book? I’m not familiar with either resource you list but I thought Western Civ part two was basically “European history since 1500” aka AP Euro. So anyway, I can’t chime in except that AP US history seems about a thousand times easier than AP Euro. We did them backwards, as one does.

Or if you’re aware of a syllabus or schedule that does this class in one semester, versus the full year, can you link or PM me? I’m doing this, and have a plan, but I always like to check myself on other syllabi to make sure it’s not all aspirational.

CTY has Arabic and Chinese classes starting at elementary level. our Italki Chinese tutor has a curriculum and assigns homework Natakallam pairs displaced Arabic speaking tutors with learners, they also have a curriculum track. Qasid institute is aimed mostly at college students and has both private and group classes...they use a common textbook (there aren’t that many Arabic textbooks). They’re online currently.

Nm