Misty Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 My daughter will be 12th grade next year. She is extremely advanced in English, writing, literature. She is University bound for an English degree. I want to show on her transcript that she has completed AP courses in English (at least one). How can I do that? She has written plays that have been performed by drama groups and she has taught Creative Writing courses (she wrote the curriculum herself) to high schoolers. She writes novels in her spare time (her passion) and she writes a book review column for our local newspaper. She is also a librarian at our library. I'm thinking all this together can count toward "honors" at least. How does this differ from AP and what can I do next year to make sure she has AP on her transcript, if anything? She will be taking British Lit and English Essentials in an academic co-op next year although she already has all her English credits. These will be extra. She will no longer be teaching, but she will continue with library work, writing her novels, research in career field (publishing, etc), and writing for the newspaper. I'm thinking about asking the English teacher at the co-op to give her extra work to make it AP. Will that work? Thanks, Misty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Ok, I did some googling and clearly I am clueless on what AP entails. Apparently there are some exams to be taken throughout the year or maybe at the end of the year by The College Board. How does a homeschooler access these exams? Sorry for the rookie questions. I don't spend a lot of time researching this sort of thing (and I clearly should!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 If you want to call a course AP, you must have your syllabus approved by the college board. She should take the AP test; colleges give credit not for an AP course, but for the score on the AP exam. I do not think a course labeled AP will impress if it is not accompanied by a test score. Alternatively, you can choose to do whatever you want in your course and only have your DD take an AP exam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Ok, I did some googling and clearly I am clueless on what AP entails. Apparently there are some exams to be taken throughout the year or maybe at the end of the year by The College Board. How does a homeschooler access these exams? Sorry for the rookie questions. I don't spend a lot of time researching this sort of thing (and I clearly should!). Not throughout the year - ONLY at one specific date in May for each subject. The AP scores rests on this one exam. You need to find a test site, i.e. a school that is willing to let a homeschooled student take the AP test in that subject. Depending on subject and school district, this may be easy or difficult. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thank you for clarifying.. Here are the credentials for her British Lit teacher for next year - Should I speak to the teacher about the goal to take an AP exam before the class starts or can I just find an AP exam location on my own without teacher involvement? I'm not sure what "Pre-AP/AP certification" means or why this may be important and if it can even apply to a British Lit course (I'm just completely clueless). "Nicole ******* is an experienced high school/middle school teacher and new resident of *******. Teaching has been her passion for the last twelve years. She is certified to teach English in grades 7-12, with a gifted/talented endorsement, and Pre-AP/AP certifications. In addition to eight years of experience in the public school system, Nicole spent three years teaching classes at the **** co-op in ******, Tx including Formal Writing 1-3, French 1-4, and several literature/literary criticism courses. She has been recognized as Teacher of the Year, as well as Most Inspirational Teacher." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I don't know what pre AP/AP certifications mean in this case. It may mean her former school district authorized her to teach this level. It could mean that she attended the College Board workshop for English. There are two different English exams. English Language and Composition is mostly non fiction with a lot of essay reading and writing. English Literature and Composition is mostly poetry and fiction. It is possible to sit for the exam in May without doing an official course. You could label the class as English Literature with AP Test. To call it an AP course on the transcript the course syllabus must be approved by College Board (the group that creates SAT and AP exams and that owns the AP brand). It is possible to turn in a syllabus for approval as a homeschooler. You might also talk to the coop teacher to see if she can offer work on the AP level for your daughter or other interested students. It's possible that she's had a syllabus approved in the past. Colleges only grant credit bases on the score. Sometimes for a 3 or higher. Sometimes for a 4 or higher. Because scores aren't out until June or July the score won't be a factor in college apps. But you might be able to present the rigor of the course as the next step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 You will probably need to find the test location. The coop teacher might know what schools are welcoming. Some areas are easy to work with and offer many exams. Some don't offer many exams and don't like outside students. I would have a chat with the coop teacher and see what she thinks would work with her class. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm understanding more now. I will get in touch with this teacher and see what I can find out. I've actually never met her, but I'll try to find an email address or something (she's new at the co-op) So is it mostly pointless to do this since it's in her senior year and she will already have college applications sent out before taking the AP exam next May? What do you mean by "you might be able to present the rigor of the course as the next step"? Also, does "honors" look impressive on a homeschool transcript? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm understanding more now. I will get in touch with this teacher and see what I can find out. I've actually never met her, but I'll try to find an email address or something (she's new at the co-op) So is it mostly pointless to do this since it's in her senior year and she will already have college applications sent out before taking the AP exam next May? What do you mean by "you might be able to present the rigor of the course as the next step"? Also, does "honors" look impressive on a homeschool transcript? First off there are many homeschoolers who don't do AP classes or exams at all. It sounds like your dd has a real interest in writing and lit. You will want to decide first if the AP content feeds that interest or not. Just as an example I don't do AP World History because I don't like the organization of the course. What I meant about the rigor of the course is that many schools look at AP classes as a culminating course. So it would not be unusual to be in the course but not have the exam score during application season. Possible benefits include validating one of the intro English courses freshman year and being able to move into deeper courses earlier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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