Gwenny Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 My dd was talking to an older homeschool student that said he was studying at home to take an AP test. I thought the course had to be accredited to take the test. Can you just study the topic and then take the test? Will the score still count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanley Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I *think* you can just study to take the test. HOWEVER if you want to list a course as an AP course on the HS transcript, it must be approved by the college board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amateur Actress Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Pretty sure Chanley is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwenny Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 So if he scores high enough, his future college will accept it? Assuming they take credit for that particular AP test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Yes, you can study AP courses on your own at home and then arrange with a local school to sit for the AP exam. It helps to contact local schools early in the year in order to find one that is willing to order and proctor the tests you want to take. What you can't do is write "AP Chemistry" (for instance) on the transcript unless your class is approved by the CB, but many of us write something like "Advanced Chemistry with AP Exam" instead. I then listed exam scores on the transcript, too. My kids studied many AP courses this way, and good exam grades helped them with college admissions. Course credit for AP is granted differently by each college, but it's only determined by exam scores, not how or where they studied. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 FWIW, I had "Music theory independent study with AP exam" and "Music listening and literature independent study with AP exam" on my high school transcript back in the 1980s. My school didn't offer the AP classes, and I wanted to take the exam, so I did a study hall with the band director, prepared for the tests on my own with some support from him (mostly using materials from the US Armed forces band program-he had been a USAF band member, and still had notebooks of stuff), and was the only person from my high school to sit the tests. We also had a student sit the AP Hebrew exam after preparing for it with his Rabbi-the school not only didn't offer Hebrew, but had no one who had the skills to even check his work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Yes, you can study AP courses on your own at home and then arrange with a local school to sit for the AP exam. It helps to contact local schools early in the year in order to find one that is willing to order and proctor the tests you want to take. What you can't do is write "AP Chemistry" (for instance) on the transcript unless your class is approved by the CB, but many of us write something like "Advanced Chemistry with AP Exam" instead. I then listed exam scores on the transcript, too. My kids studied many AP courses this way, and good exam grades helped them with college admissions. Course credit for AP is granted differently by each college, but it's only determined by exam scores, not how or where they studied. This is what we've done. Also, it is possible for homeschoolers to create a syllabus for a home-based AP course and have it approved, so long as it meets the course requirements (level of textbook, type of assignments) that are listed in the course description and curriculum requirements. I have had several courses approved. The AP Course home page for each course has 3-4 sample syllabuses that you can use as a model. It is even possible to adopt one of the sample syllabuses if it matches what you intend to do in the course (I am doing this for AP US History. It made more sense to just adopt the syllabus than to go through the work of writing my own, especially since I was using the same books.) Usually high schools do AP exam registration between January and March. Sometimes there is only a brief window of time during which they register outside students for open exam seats. I call in the fall or January to try to find schools that will let us test with them. Outside students usually pay the exam fees (even if the district pays for their students' exam fees). This year the cost is $91 per exam. Some schools are willing to proctor exams even if they aren't offering that course. These schools are rare treasures. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 This is what we've done. Also, it is possible for homeschoolers to create a syllabus for a home-based AP course and have it approved, so long as it meets the course requirements (level of textbook, type of assignments) that are listed in the course description and curriculum requirements. I have had several courses approved. The AP Course home page for each course has 3-4 sample syllabuses that you can use as a model. It is even possible to adopt one of the sample syllabuses if it matches what you intend to do in the course (I am doing this for AP US History. It made more sense to just adopt the syllabus than to go through the work of writing my own, especially since I was using the same books.) Usually high schools do AP exam registration between January and March. Sometimes there is only a brief window of time during which they register outside students for open exam seats. I call in the fall or January to try to find schools that will let us test with them. Outside students usually pay the exam fees (even if the district pays for their students' exam fees). This year the cost is $91 per exam. Some schools are willing to proctor exams even if they aren't offering that course. These schools are rare treasures. How do you adopt a sample syllabus? Do you just submit it to the college board with a note that it is a sample syllabus from their site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 How do you adopt a sample syllabus? Do you just submit it to the college board with a note that it is a sample syllabus from their site? It's one of the options as you go through the course audit process online. I can't link right now--search 'ap course audit' with the name of the course to find the page on collegeboard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 How do you adopt a sample syllabus? Do you just submit it to the college board with a note that it is a sample syllabus from their site? You will need to have an AP teacher account. No problem doing this as a homeschooler. There is a link from the Course Audit page for each course. You click on Add New Course. Then it will give you a place to submit a syllabus. When you click on that, there will be options to upload a new syllabus, adopt an approved syllabus (ex, a friend shares their syllabus with you) or to adopt a sample syllabus. If you are adopting a sample syllabus, you will want to pick which sample syllabus you are going to use. There is a syllabus number on the pdf of that syllabus. Save the syllabus to your computer. When you adopt the syllabus, the form will ask for the syllabus number and then for you to upload a copy of the sample syllabus. I did this today for US History. I had approval notification within an hour. This saved me a ton of time, because I had already decided that the sample used books that I wanted to use. I can always add in things like Teaching Company lectures, but it's nice to spend my time on working through the content, not on getting the syllabus format right. For other courses, I've used the sample as a framework and added and subtracted readings and activities; but the APUSH course isn't one I feel so passionately about. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 You will need to have an AP teacher account. No problem doing this as a homeschooler. There is a link from the Course Audit page for each course. You click on Add New Course. Then it will give you a place to submit a syllabus. When you click on that, there will be options to upload a new syllabus, adopt an approved syllabus (ex, a friend shares their syllabus with you) or to adopt a sample syllabus. If you are adopting a sample syllabus, you will want to pick which sample syllabus you are going to use. There is a syllabus number on the pdf of that syllabus. Save the syllabus to your computer. When you adopt the syllabus, the form will ask for the syllabus number and then for you to upload a copy of the sample syllabus. I did this today for US History. I had approval notification within an hour. This saved me a ton of time, because I had already decided that the sample used books that I wanted to use. I can always add in things like Teaching Company lectures, but it's nice to spend my time on working through the content, not on getting the syllabus format right. For other courses, I've used the sample as a framework and added and subtracted readings and activities; but the APUSH course isn't one I feel so passionately about. Thank you. I didn't realize it could be so straightforward. I had heard people talking about designing their own syllabus and instantly felt overwhelmed. I think I could pull some of these courses together at home if the syllabus was already written up. Do you find that it takes significantly more time to complete an AP course vs. a regular course when you do it at home? One of the reasons I'm interested in this option is so that we can move at our own pace and avoid busywork. A lot of the PA Homeschooler classes seem to call for 10 hours of work a week which seems excessive for a full year course in something like psychology, but maybe I am wrong on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thank you. I didn't realize it could be so straightforward. I had heard people talking about designing their own syllabus and instantly felt overwhelmed. I think I could pull some of these courses together at home if the syllabus was already written up. Do you find that it takes significantly more time to complete an AP course vs. a regular course when you do it at home? One of the reasons I'm interested in this option is so that we can move at our own pace and avoid busywork. A lot of the PA Homeschooler classes seem to call for 10 hours of work a week which seems excessive for a full year course in something like psychology, but maybe I am wrong on that. Dd and I haven't found her AP classs to take longer than a "regular" class. My older nonhomeschooled kids took many AP classes in high school. They probably had an hour of homework per class per night. Some of that work was done on the weekends. Dd spends an hour per day on her AP classes (averaged----she likes to work in time blocks). She does not have to complete study guides (she makes her own), she does not have to do group projects, she does not have to make a poster illustating stages of development for psych, she does not have to comment on classmates' work (something that is common for online AP classes, substituting for in-person discussion). One person's busywork is another person's fun activity, however! Our approach to AP classes is to treat them like college classes. She does the textbook/journal/supplemental reading, sometimes watches short video clips to support the topic (from news sources, from interesting teachers, from Crash Course or similar), discusses the topic with me and/or dh during meals, and writes a paper or does a problem set or takes an exam I write. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Dd and I haven't found her AP classs to take longer than a "regular" class. My older nonhomeschooled kids took many AP classes in high school. They probably had an hour of homework per class per night. Some of that work was done on the weekends. Dd spends an hour per day on her AP classes (averaged----she likes to work in time blocks). She does not have to complete study guides (she makes her own), she does not have to do group projects, she does not have to make a poster illustating stages of development for psych, she does not have to comment on classmates' work (something that is common for online AP classes, substituting for in-person discussion). One person's busywork is another person's fun activity, however! Our approach to AP classes is to treat them like college classes. She does the textbook/journal/supplemental reading, sometimes watches short video clips to support the topic (from news sources, from interesting teachers, from Crash Course or similar), discusses the topic with me and/or dh during meals, and writes a paper or does a problem set or takes an exam I write. Okay, that sounds encouraging. I don't want to write my own tests, though, especially in something like AP CS, but I am going to start looking into the textbooks recommended with the sample syllabi and see if I can't find one that has tests that go with it and if homeschoolers can buy them. I like the idea of adding in video clips and journal articles for added interest. Thanks! Edited January 26, 2016 by OnMyOwn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Okay, that sounds encouraging. I don't want to write my own tests, though, especially in something like AP CS, but I am going to start looking into the textbooks recommended with the sample syllabi and see if I can't find one that has tests that go with it and if homeschoolers can buy them. I like the idea of adding in video clips and journal articles for added interest. Thanks! If you're looking at AP CS, you might look into the course from Edhesive (used to be called Amplify). Student enrollment is free. Coaches pay around $150 for each student they are coaching. (In my mind, that is pretty inexpensive for an AP course that lasts a year.) There are assignment activities, quizzes, 60-80-100 code writing assignments (similar to parts of a free response), and unit tests. The coaches access doubles the number of assessments you have access to, by adding a written version (normally they are done online). For tests in other courses, I have given parts of the released free response questions that CB publishes every year. Then we grade them using the scoring guidelines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 This thread has some advice on how to create an AP syllabus. AP Course Audit - Advice Please 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 If you're looking at AP CS, you might look into the course from Edhesive (used to be called Amplify). Student enrollment is free. Coaches pay around $150 for each student they are coaching. (In my mind, that is pretty inexpensive for an AP course that lasts a year.) There are assignment activities, quizzes, 60-80-100 code writing assignments (similar to parts of a free response), and unit tests. The coaches access doubles the number of assessments you have access to, by adding a written version (normally they are done online). For tests in other courses, I have given parts of the released free response questions that CB publishes every year. Then we grade them using the scoring guidelines. Thank you. I had Edhesive down on my list of options to look at, but I was not aware of the coaching option, so I will check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thank you. I had Edhesive down on my list of options to look at, but I was not aware of the coaching option, so I will check that out. Just to be clear, Edhesive doesn't provide coaches. They do provide support for coaches. When ds did the course many coaches were new to Java and were learning alongside their students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnMyOwn Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Just to be clear, Edhesive doesn't provide coaches. They do provide support for coaches. When ds did the course many coaches were new to Java and were learning alongside their students. I was thinking that I would sign up as her coach and that this would give us extra practice problems for the exam? Would that still be useful even if I'm not going to learn java? Or am I just totally misunderstanding? I'm going to take a look at the website right now. Edited January 26, 2016 by OnMyOwn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) I was thinking that I would sign up as her coach and that this would give us extra practice problems for the exam? Would that still be useful even if I'm not going to learn java? Or am I just totally misunderstanding? I'm going to take a look at the website right now. What you're describing is what I did. I was able to compare ds's programs with the the sample solutions and help him see where he could have used a more elegant solution. Some of the coaches on the forum are experienced coders; some are learning as they go; some don't help with the programming, but do make sure they stay on track with the assignments. I just didn't want it to sound like you could pay and have a coach assigned. When I was rereading my post, I thought it seemed unclear. BTW, they have excellent customer service. I chatted with one of their reps at length multiple times during the course about course administrative questions. The forum is where you can get programming help. Edited January 27, 2016 by Sebastian (a lady) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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