If your child took an AP test without taking a class...

[WTMindy]

how did they do on the test? What extra preparation did you do to make sure they had covered the appropriate materials? Are there some tests that lend themselves more to passing without having gone through an actual course?

 

Thanks.

[Jane in NC]

Clarification: do you mean that the student did not take an official AP sanctioned class?

 

A number of students self study, but, given that AP is theoretically college level material, it would be very challenging for most students to show up on test day and pass the exam without having read a text.

[Guest CyberIstari]

Challenging, but certainly not impossible. Back in the "Dark Ages", I took the AP Language and Composition test without having had a class in it, and scored higher than I had in my two later tests for which I *had* taken classes. And "sanctioned" may not be the correct word - following the AP syllabus for that particular class would be better.

 

More to the point, there are study guides designed for the AP exams; some may include practice tests as well, or there may be practice tests otherwise available. Both would give you good ideas on the topics covered. (Note that I don't have one quite ready for this yet - I will be doing more research in the next year myself.)

[forty-two]

I took the AP microeconomics exam without taking a class (or actually even studying all that much :leaving:), and got a 4. I had taken the macroecon class, which had a bit of crossover, but mostly I read part of a text (which was plenty comprehensive - I was solid on the parts I'd actually read) and crammed the rest with the cliff notes to AP microecon (yes, seriously) the night before (and day of) the exam, which was somehow enough to get a 4 (though not enough to actually learn microeconomics in a meaningful sense). My understanding (and experience) is that both the econ exams (and the US govt exam) are among the easier AP exams.

[eumyang]

I took the AP Music Theory test as a HS sophomore, without taking any class at school. However, at the music school where I took piano lessons, I also had nearly four years of theory (2 years of classes and 2 years of theory private lessons) by the time I took the test. I didn't do any studying for the test proper. I got a 5.

 

The following year, I took the AP Music Lit test (the last year College Board offered it), without any classes, even at the music school. I just read books, listened to records/tapes/CD's, looked at music scores, on my own for a number of years before taking that test. I got a 4.

 

So I guess I'm saying that it's possible for a student to do well on an AP test without taking a class, if he/she is really motivated.

 

 

69

[FaithManor]

DD did not take an AP chemistry class. She did both Apologia books, went through her father's old college chem book, did a lot of reading on chemistry just for pleasure (yes, we raised a geek), and completed an AP study book. She scored quite high and then discovered that no pre-med pre-requisites can be AP'ed or Clepped.

 

Faith

[Barb_]

Many seem to think Psychology is the easiest AP to pass. College Confidential has a few threads on AP self study, and tons on AP in general. In my experience, the timed essay is the biggest challenge. Churning out a good one all the way to the conclusion during the allotted time is rough unless the student has practiced.

 

Barb

[MomsintheGarden]

how did they do on the test? What extra preparation did you do to make sure they had covered the appropriate materials? Are there some tests that lend themselves more to passing without having gone through an actual course?

 

Thanks.

Our two oldest self-studied for several APs, and, with the exception of ds on Chemistry (got a 3), both got 5s on all. Here are the tests at least one of them took: Calculus AB, Calculus BC, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Comp., Microeconomics, Chemistry, Physics C Mechanics, and Physics C Electricity & Magnetism.

 

They generally used AP-approved (on the CB website) or college-level texts. To find appropriate college texts, search your favorite college's bookstore for what is used in comparable courses (find them by searching for AP credit on their website, and see what credit can be gotten for which APs). They also used commercial prep materials such as those published by Barrons or Princeton Review. For economics they also drilled on the instantcert website. Instantcert and Speedyprep are great websites for drilling on certain subjects, but are geared especially for CLEP prep. For Physics C, my dd used two actual released exams borrowed from a friend; she had purchased them from the CB. And finally, we made great use of the past FRQs (free-response questions) available on the CB website. The CB makes their FRQs available, but you have to purchase past exams to get the MCs (multiple choice questions).

 

To make sure they have covered all the material, we often checked the Course Descriptions on the CB website as well as the commercial prep materials.

 

You are right in your guess that some APs are easier to pass without taking an actual course. In my opinion, the easiest APs are economics (both), psychology, and human geography. The calculus and English exams are of middle difficulty. The hardest are the foreign language and science exams. YMMV based on past preparation and natural ability. None of the exams are cake, though!

 

I have found a lot of helpful information from searching these boards, College Confidential, and the internet in general.

 

HTH,

Gardenmom

[WTMindy]

Thanks for the info. Do all of the tests have study guides that you can get? We'll be using TOG for history/writing. And, theoretically, if she develops great thinking and writing skills, those should be transferable to the test as long as we also make sure to supplement with things from the AP syllabus.

[FloridaLisa]

Thanks for the info. Do all of the tests have study guides that you can get?

 

Yes. Take a look at B&N and you'll find an entire aisle of study guides.

 

We'll be using TOG for history/writing. And, theoretically, if she develops great thinking and writing skills, those should be transferable to the test as long as we also make sure to supplement with things from the AP syllabus.

 

Yes, and keep in mind that College Board covers specific content for each course, which you can find on the AP Central site. So it isn't always as easy as studying European history with your own materials, for instance, and then sitting for the exam. College Board will test specific content on European history. The study guides should be organized according to the AP requirements. You want to make sure your student has covered the most-likely-to-be-tested material (particular events, people, relationship between events, vocabulary, etc.) Also, it's helpful to know how to specifically respond to the essay or short-answer questions.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[WTMindy]

Thanks Lisa, that was exactly what I wanted to know. I'm not sure which tests I want her to take (if any) but I was just trying to keep some options open.

[MomsintheGarden]

Thanks for the info. Do all of the tests have study guides that you can get? We'll be using TOG for history/writing. And, theoretically, if she develops great thinking and writing skills, those should be transferable to the test as long as we also make sure to supplement with things from the AP syllabus.

You can get prep books for all of the APs. Use caution when buying because the CB is updating the exams and I do not know which ones are to be changed and when. You will need to research that and keep current on it.

 

My dd took the AP Lang in 11th, and the AP Lit in 12th after doing WTM-style literature for 7th-10th (she tracked her older brother so I would have them both reading the same things). The WTM study was great prep for these exams, but your dd will need to intensively study for the exams as well. It is hard to write three coherent essays in two hours, and she will need to practice that skill for several months. In addition, for the Lit exam, she will need to know 5-7 carefully selected quality (by their standards) fictional books backwards and forwards.

 

She could also apply her TOG knowledge to a history exam or two, but we didn't do any AP history, so that is beyond my realm of experience.

 

GardenMom

Edited April 6, 2011 by MomsintheGarden
End parenthesis

[Brilliant]

My dd got a 5 on AP Art History after studying at home. I came up with a plan after reading the sample syllabi at the College Board website, and researching threads on this board. She read the entire Gardner's Art History textbook and completed the study guide available from the publisher. We also watched the History of European Art from The Teaching Company. And she read a book on architecture (the name escapes me now). Then as a review in the last three weeks or so before the test, she read through an AP study guide and did the practice tests.

 

As others have said, it's easier for some tests than others. We tried to do APUSH also, but I just didn't think I could adequately guide her on all the practice essays she was attempting.

[ocelotmom]

10ish years ago...

 

I took AP Psychology effectively independently (transcript-wise, I was in the class, but the teacher ran it VERY non-traditionally - more philosophy than psych, and so the test itself was effectively self-study) and got a 4. I suspect I would have gotten a 5 if I'd actually picked up a standard college Psych text at some point.

 

I took the AP Lit test on my own with a little bit of review from a sympathetic English teacher because I'd gotten a 5 on the AP English Language test and the AP Lit teacher was a complete *!*@&% to whom I wasn't going to subject myself. I got a 4.

 

I took the AP Bio test a year after actually taking the class (long story short - the teacher was another complete *!*@&% ), on 24 hours of review with an AP Bio study guide. I got a 4.

 

One thing to consider is that not all colleges give credit for anything over 3, and the "easy" tests may have higher standards. The college I ended up attending only gave credit for a 5 on the Psychology test, for example, while I got credit for the others.

Edited April 7, 2011 by ocelotmom

[Mom to 3 Island Boys]

Can someone point me to the appropriate area of the CB that would give me an idea of appropriate contents and texts? Thanks!

[MomsintheGarden]

Can someone point me to the appropriate area of the CB that would give me an idea of appropriate contents and texts? Thanks!

Here's one way to find them:

 

1. Go to the AP Central Course Home Pages list:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/index.html

 

2. Select the course you want. Let's say you want Calculus AB:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2178.html

 

3. Search or scroll down to the link that says "Teacher's Resources." Select Calculus AB again, then search. You will get a list of texts and other resources that have been used in approved Calculus AB courses.

 

This works well for most subjects, but I found it not helpful in prepping for the two English exams. Most of the "texts" listed in the Teacher Resources area for these courses are anthologies with snippets of literature. I found the best resources for these exams to be entire fiction books (for Lit), biographies (for Lang), essays available for free from the internet (for Lang), Spark and Cliff's notes, the Cliff's notes AP English prep books, and the Free-Response questions downloaded from the CB website.

Here are past FRQs for English Language:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2001.html

Here they are for English Literature:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2002.html

 

FRQs are available for all of the past exams. MCs are not available, except in purchased past exams, the few sample questions in the Course Description, and the sample exam available to teachers.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Mom to 3 Island Boys]

Thank you so much! :001_smile:

[Joan in GE]

If you do develop your own course and get it approved by the AP Audit people, they will then give you a free copy of a practice exam for that subject - which is up to date. So if there have been any changes they will be part of the exam unlike some of the older released exams.

 

The process of preparing for getting approval can help make your course better if you then research more about what is expected for the course than you would have otherwise (if you put it into practice of course :001_smile:).

 

Joan