AP and SAT II prep

[readwithem]

If you have/had a student take the same subject for both the AP and the SAT subject tests, will/did you get a book for each test? My dd is planning to take the AP Chemistry and the SAT chemistry test, we were looking at the AP schedule and she thinks she could handle a few others. So do you think one book (with either SAT subject or AP as its theme) would suffice, or should we get a book for each test?

 

Also what tests dovetail the best with each other? Are the Chemistry tests similar? US History? Foreign language?

 

Anything to corroborate our "mommy grades" :001_smile:

[Gwen in VA]

Get the specific study guide for each test. (We got a minimum of two test prep books per exam) It's expensive but well worth the money --

 

1) AP exams have those questions that involve things being written out. Students need to see the type of questions that they will be asked and then solve/write enough of those questions that they get a feel for the type of question and time frame they will be allowed.

 

2) AP exams and SAT-II exams actually expect students to know slightly different things by memory (particularly relevant for the sciences). If you just get a study guide for one type of test, you may miss the fact that the student needs to know X for the other exam.

 

3) The instructions to the problems are different. My kids favorite example of weird directions was on the chemistry SAT-II. A whole class of questions had directions like the following -- Look at the following two statements. A) A only is true; B) B only is true, c) Neither are true, D) Both are true but A does not cause B; E) Both are true and B is a result of A.

 

I would hate to have my kids bump into that set of directions for the first time in a real exam.

 

4) The time frames are different. The SAT-II's are a straight 1-hour exam, but the AP exams are broken up into all kinds of subsections with different time, and it is good for the students to be familiar with the test protocol beforehand.

 

5) PRACTICE! The exams are different enough that doing each specific type of exam for practice will really help.

 

My kids found that the SAT-II / AP exam combos that worked well for them were --

 

Chemistry

Physics

US HIstory

 

Literature and Latin did NOT work well -- very different expectations. They really need to be studied for completely separately.

 

For those of you who are wondering, yes -- we do have about 6 linear feet of test prep books! After my youngest graduates, I think we should have a test prep bonfire! :tongue_smilie:

[sleepy]

Thanks for the great advice, Gwen! :001_smile:

 

After my youngest graduates, I think we should have a test prep bonfire! :tongue_smilie:

 

:lol::lol: That's exactly what my kids want to do with all our school books. :tongue_smilie:

[readwithem]

I was hoping you would chime in :)

 

Thanks - you should get a rebate from the test prep book writers :):)

[latinteach]

Literature and Latin did NOT work well -- very different expectations. They really need to be studied for completely separately.

Definitely true.

 

In fact, the AP is moving toward just ONE capstone exam in each language. This means there will no longer be two AP Latin exams, but one. Right now, as I understand it, the exam will focus on Vergil, but it is very possible that an entirely new AP curriculum may be devised that includes other authors. But for right now, this is the last year for the Ovid-Catullus-Horace Lit exams. After that, it will just be Vergil until they make a decision as to what the AP focus will be.

 

Meanwhile, there is also the SAT-II exam, which as you point out, has an entirely different focus than the AP. The way this works out is that if you want both the SAT-II and AP for Latin, you'll likely be doing the SAT-II in the third year of Latin and the AP in the fourth. (Ie. Junior and Senior year.)

 

Hope this makes sense. And of course, you'll want to check with whomever advises you on exams and tests, but this is how the situation seems to be right now.