Apologia adequate prep for AP exams?

[Meredith]

In your opinion or experience,

 

1) Are the Apologia advanced courses adequate preparation for AP exams? Did your children do well? If not, is there another program that you would consider?

 

2) Did they do both texts in one year? How doable is that?

 

TIA!

[Sandy in Indy]

DS took the AP Chem test last month, so I won't have a "real" answer (scores) until July...but I can say that he felt prepared and that he did well. He took Chem and Adv. Chem over 2 years and did some additional study with the Princeton AP review book. Hopefully he scored well!

[H.S. Burrow]

I'm not sure if you are aware, but the College Board website has an AP section. You can set up a "teacher profile" and access all of the AP study guides...I have downloaded and saved them all! They also have a textbook review and recommended textbooks for the different AP courses.

 

I looked at the colleges that we are considering for our dc and what AP Courses/grades transfer and I also looked at the textbook that those colleges use for Biology. That is the text we will use for AP Biology.

 

I know this doesn't exactly answer your question -- since we have not used Apologia -- but I thought I would post anyway since we have decided not to use Apologia for the very reason that *we* feel that it will not be the best text to prepare our dc for the AP exams.

 

I'll be watching to see if anyone has had good results on the AP exams using Apologia...the folks I know that have used Apologia did not take any AP exams.

 

Hope this helps and doesn't confuse!

[Meredith]

Thanks for that suggestion!

[Ms. Riding Hood]

Ds has used Apologia and taken AP Chemistry and Physics B (Apologia is not calculus-based and would not prepare you for the Physics C exams). He used both Apologia texts (beginning and advanced) for each of these courses in a single school year (about one module/wk)--very doable as far as he was concerned. He thought that Apologia was very good preparation, though he did also work through a study guide and old tests a week or two prior to the exams. He did say there was one topic area that Apologia did not cover in depth for physics; however, the study guide gave him a heads up on this and he made sure to review that in particular (or if I would have been a prepared mother/mentor I would have noticed this by comparing the Apologia TOC w/the AP course outline.) In chemistry, he scored a 5. No score yet on physics.

 

I'm really awaiting the physics scores; he got off to a rocky start with the first question (misunderstood it and worked it wrong, only to realize this when he was about done with the problem...and then had to rework the whole thing!). It unnerved him and threw off his time for the rest of the exam. :sad: He came away upset with himself. But he would tell you that he felt well prepared. Just a little test anxiety!

 

HTH!

[Meredith]

Thanks, Lynne! That's great that he got a 5 on the chemistry exam and reassuring to me that it is possible to do well on the AP Chemistry exam using Apologia. I would love to know how he did on the Physics exam but it is also reassuring to me that he felt well prepared. That is significant.

 

When I was in high school, I took the AP Physics C exam and it was one of the hardest tests I had ever taken!!!

[Kelly on the prairie]

Tracy in Texas, I am all new to this stuff and am wondering if you have a link for the AP study guides.

 

I am not even sure if I understand fully what the AP exams can do for a child considering college except help them to avoid classes they have proficiency in. Do these results go into a portfolio for colleges the child is considering applying for:001_huh:?

 

We thought we were sending our oldest to high school next year and are now reconsidering our options for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, you will all be hearing a lot from me in the next couple of months:glare:!

[Ms. Riding Hood]

Here's a link to the Teacher Resource pages. You can search for resources by subject and type. Also, you can look at the course home page to see more about each course and possible textbooks. Click on the course of interest; you will be directed to the home page for that course. Scroll down to "teaching resource materials" and click on that link. You can also read about AP at the College Board's main site. There is a section for students, parents and professionals (this means you). Click on the section you want and then choose "AP" (College Board also makes SAT tests, CLEP tests, etc., so there are several options listed on the webpage.)

 

AP exams can sometimes help a kiddo get college credit and help show advanced mastery of subject matter aside from homeschool grades. They are 3 hour multiple choice and essay (free response) exams, given once a year in May; they are very challenging. You have scores sent to colleges just like SAT scores, and the exam scores can also be noted on transcripts.

 

There are other (simpler, easier) ways to get credit, though, if that is the main goal! CLEP exams are shorter, multiple-choice only exams that can be taken at any time during the year. Many (not all!!) colleges give credit for decent scores on these and they are much simpler.

 

Dc can do AP or CLEP at any age, but AP are tough and require lots of advanced work and preparation. Not so with CLEP.

 

That's a brief rundown; probably more than you wanted to know!

[merylvdm]

Like Sany'd child - mine just took AP Chem and also felt well prepared after Apologia ... like her, I have to wait and see - and it is encouraging to hear about the 5 one student scored! My dd is not very 'scientific' so we would be thrilled with a 4!

 

To answer the question about what APs can give you - yes, they give college credit, but they also show that you can do work at a high academic level. My dd just got into the Honors program at Biola. THey said you pretty much need to have done APs to get in. (Her Engl / Hist Aps won't count there as her Honors course replaces the usual Engl and History). If your child plans to go to a college which is harder to get into, it is a VERY good idea to have some AP scores to send in.

 

Meryl

[Kelly on the prairie]

Thanks for the links. I guess I have always known about AP courses. In our neck of the woods parents just discuss taking college classes in high school for credit.

 

What I didn't know is that there were elaborate exams at the end. I thought the classes were just college classes and in undergraduate, I had few three hour examinations for 200 or below level classes:001_huh:.

 

Thanks again for the info!

[Pamela H in Texas]

Lynne,

 

Can you tell me....

 

1) Apologia's site suggests that the Adv Physics fills in information the first book covers. So could a science bright student do just Adv Physics?

 

2) Did your son go back and forth between the books for each topic or did he do all of the PHysics book and follow up with all of the Adv. Physics book?

 

Maybe I should have switched the order of those two questions. Anyway, any input you and your son could give would be greatly appreciated :)

[Jan P.]

Tracy in Texas, I am all new to this stuff and am wondering if you have a link for the AP study guides.

 

I am not even sure if I understand fully what the AP exams can do for a child considering college except help them to avoid classes they have proficiency in. Do these results go into a portfolio for colleges the child is considering applying for:001_huh:?

 

:glare:!

 

 

Those kiddos with lots of good AP scores and a good SAT or ACT score will be in the running for top scholarships. I've watched this time and again with various kids who have received full scholarships and tuition.

 

Jan P.

[Jan P.]

[quote name=Ms. Riding Hood;284213 There are other (simpler' date=' easier) ways to get credit, though, if that is the main goal! CLEP exams are shorter, multiple-choice only exams that can be taken at any time during the year. Many (not all!!) colleges give credit for decent scores on these and they are much simpler.

 

Dc can do AP or CLEP at any age, but AP are tough and require lots of advanced work and preparation. Not so with CLEP.

 

That's a brief rundown; probably more than you wanted to know!

 

 

Don't discount the CLEP exams. They are great for validating your "mommy grades". Also, I have heard that some of the CLEP exams are hard. Just because they don't include essay questions doesn't mean that these exams are a piece of cake. They do cover college material.

 

FWIW,

Jan P.

[Ms. Riding Hood]

I have heard that some of the CLEP exams are hard. Just because they don't include essay questions doesn't mean that these exams are a piece of cake. They do cover college material..

 

I didn't mean to discount CLEP at all, or to imply that they are a piece of cake. We have used them, and will continue to use them, to our dc's best advantage. But in our experience, and when considered against AP exams, there has really been no comparison as far as difficulty, level of preparation needed, etc. Plus, many colleges that accept CLEP accept an extremely low score for credit. CLEP tests will still require you to know certain things, and to study and prepare...but not like AP. Maybe there are exceptions in certain subject areas? But AP requires much higher level thinking and writing skills, imo. Not to mention the length of the exams, too! CLEP are all around less stressful at our house: probably not even half as much stress!! That's nice!