AP Biology: Should we take the AP or SAT II or just use grades

[Karenciavo]

My son is taking an outside the home AP Biology class. Two of the colleges on our tentative list do not accept the AP Biology exam. Do you think I should just use the grades he gets from this other teacher or should I have him take the SAT II or should he take the AP exam anyway? He's not science oriented. He's gotten a B+ for the 1st semester, but I'm wondering (concerned :glare:) how he'd do on the AP exam, I'm not sure.

 

Any opinions?

 

Thanks,

Karen

[In The Great White North]

The I'd take the AP just for the practice effect.

 

If scores go up on the SAT with each test, it makes sense that he will do better on future APs (in subjects he's more interested in) after taking this one.

 

I'd get the prep book too, so he can go through the whole process of prep, practice test and test. Ideally, I'd don enough prep with him to ensure success, so this is a confidence building exercise too.

 

Also, between 14 and graduation, his "orientation" and college choices could change considerably. I know mine did.

[Karenciavo]

Thanks, yes, he's 14 in 9th grade.

[readwithem]

I would have him take the SAT II exam. The more outside verification the better :)

[Jane in NC]

Did the teacher for the outside class receive certification from the College Board so that you can call the course "AP Biology" on the transcript? We are doing this one on our own (no course audit) so I can only indicate that my son is taking Biology on his transcript; however, I want to back up the course with an AP score. (In my son's case he is also taking the SAT subject test but this is because it seems that a number of the colleges in which he is interested want to see several SAT subject test scores from applicants.)

 

Secondly, before you make the call on the AP test, you might want to have your student try his hand at one of the practice AP tests in a prep book. He may do better than you think. Roughly half the credit is from multiple choice questions, the remainder from essay questions. (Maybe 60/40?) I would not dismiss the exam until he tried a sample test.

 

Jane

[Karenciavo]

Did the teacher for the outside class receive certification from the College Board so that you can call the course "AP Biology" on the transcript?

 

Oh yes. She's been teaching this for years after teaching high school Biology in the public schools as well. Good idea about taking the practice test. He's got a great memory for things and he's a very good writer, but he feels pressure from timed tests and doesn't do as well as he could. That B+ he got could have been an A if his test scores were higher. All his essays, labs, book work and positions papers get high 90's, but his test scores were an average of 81 I think.