Blog: Easiest APs

[MarkT]

http://blog.prepscholar.com/these-are-the-easiest-ap-classes-for-you

[daijobu]

I might add AP chemistry to the list of hardest.  

 

And AP Computer Science A as one of the easiest.  Maybe also AP statistics.  

[freesia]

I might add AP chemistry to the list of hardest.  

 

And AP Computer Science A as one of the easiest.  Maybe also AP statistics.  

 

Or, like the blog said, some of it depends on the student.  My ds found the AP English Language test easier than the Comp Sci, b/c English is his strength and he's not a natural progammer/problem solver.  He did get a 4--but had to work hard in the class and on test prep.

 

[Roadrunner]

I might add AP chemistry to the list of hardest.

 

And AP Computer Science A as one of the easiest. Maybe also AP statistics.

Did you daughter complete AP Chem successfully as a freshman? I am wondering if you have any advice for those who might follow that route.

 

My understanding is AP Human Geo, AP Environmental Science and AP US Gov. are the easiest.

[GoodGrief]

My daughter found AP Music Theory to be one of her hardest, despite going into it with a solid 14 years of music education behind her, plus plenty of test specific prep.

 

Chinese was tough too. Because such a high percentage of native speakers take the exam, there is not much of a curve. She had studied Mandarin for about 8 years at that point, but this was still her only result that was not a 5.

[RegGuheert]

And AP Computer Science A as one of the easiest.  

I'm sorry, but this simply is not true as a general statement.  Sure, AP Computer Science A is easy for students who are very good Java programmers.  But when you consider the fact that 30% to 60% of incoming college freshmen fail their first introductory programming class, it stands to reason that even a higher percentage of the overall population than those who chose it as their major are unable to program a computer.

 

DS19 taught AP Computer Science in our home two years in a row.  Most of the students the first year were unable to achieve even a 3 on the AP Computer Science exam.  This is after two complete semesters of Java programming and test prep.  Some students fail from day one and even more fail when the course transitions from procedural to object-oriented programming.

 

I took the class while functioning as an assistant the first year.  I started programming nearly four decades ago and did not find Java overly challenging, even though object-oriented programming was new to me.  Still, the multiple-choice portion of the exam was a major time-crunch for me.  I was never able to complete more than 75% of that portion of the exam in the allotted time (though they now allocate more time for multiple choice than they did then).

 

Four of our children have now taken the AP Computer Science A exam.  Only one achieved a five.  He is an exceptional programmer.  The other three did very well in the class, but only achieved a 4 on the exam.

 

So I will encourage people to not be fooled by the high percent of 5s achieved in AP Computer Science A.  This is largely due to self-selection bias.  I can tell you from experience that many students who take the class either drop out early or simply decide to not take the test since they know that they will fail it.  For most students, AP Computer Science A will require three things for success: 1) The ability to program.  2) Hard work in a Java course to learn to program and the nitty-gritty details of the language, and 3) Hard work on AP CS A test prep.  For three of my children, that earned them a 4.  For the one who is a rather brilliant programmer, he easily earned a 5.  But some students simply will not be able to learn to program.  Of those that do, some will not get past object-oriented programming.  It is hard to know which students will struggle in advance.  There are some interesting ideas in the link at the beginning of this post.

[daijobu]

Did you daughter complete AP Chem successfully as a freshman? I am wondering if you have any advice for those who might follow that route.

 

 

 

Yes, she got a 5 on AP chem.  But it was a lot of work.  It seemed like every week she was learning a completely different concept in depth.  She took the class from Mr. Moskaluk at PAH.  He's an experienced AP teacher and knows the exam inside and out. 

 

Here are my caveats.  AP chem was her priority class that year.  All other classes had flexible deadlines.  As soon as the new week's assignment was posted, she went straight to work on them.  She was also active on the discussion boards, asking questions about even the slightest thing she may not understand.  It is reading intensive so it really helps if your student learns well by reading and takes it as his responsibility to learn everything, and if he doesn't to ask the teacher.  Mr. M will respond within minutes of a question being posted, and dd developed a great rapport with him.  

 

The course works really well for a very motivated learner who isn't afraid to admit to the whole class that she doesn't understand something, and understands exactly what she doesn't understand.  And prefers learning by reading from a textbook.  

[daijobu]

I'm sorry, but this simply is not true as a general statement.  Sure, AP Computer Science A is easy for students who are very good Java programmers.  

 

 

I have 2 daughters who both took the AP CS A exam as 8th graders and both got 5's.  Here is my advice.  Starting in late elementary, begin studying python.  I like Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner by Michael Dawson and the AoPS classes.  That way they become familiar with the basics of programming: loops, data structures, OOP, etc.  That way when they start AP CS A, they are only learning the specifics of Java.  This is a huge advantage because AP CS A does not assume you have any programming experience.  

 

My second bit of advice is to take AP CS A with Mrs. Dovi at Edhesive.  You're in good hands with Mrs. Dovi.  

[MarkT]

I'm sorry, but this simply is not true as a general statement.  Sure, AP Computer Science A is easy for students who are very good Java programmers.  But when you consider the fact that 30% to 60% of incoming college freshmen fail their first introductory programming class, it stands to reason that even a higher percentage of the overall population than those who chose it as their major are unable to program a computer.

 

 

yes and the current trend of pushing too many students into STEM is a mistake.

 

Many folks just don't have a natural understanding of logic and struggle with programming in general.

[Arcadia]

My understanding is AP Human Geo, AP Environmental Science and AP US Gov. are the easiest.

The easiest is whatever my kids have an interest in so the exam was just another assignment/homework. The hardest is whatever my kids have no interest in and is taking the exam to check that UC a-g box and hopefully skip some general education requirements in college.

 

So my older quirky kid did one easy and one hard AP exam if you go by the blog post. He expected a 4 and had a 5, speaks to his perfectionistic tendencies. Luckily AP exams have a grading rubric or a perfectionist grader like my older boy would have pull grades down.

 

My "slower", easily distracted kid did an easy one and despite getting a 4 enjoyed the whole experience. If my kids come out of the exam hall happy (and very hungry), that's good enough for my husband. We were prepared for them to not do very well for the first time so we were pleasantly surprised.

 

Scores would be archived in four years. We are prepared to pay the archived fees for our kids college applications in the future if need be.

[Arcadia]

Four of our children have now taken the AP Computer Science A exam.  Only one achieved a five.  He is an exceptional programmer.  The other three did very well in the class, but only achieved a 4 on the exam.

 

So I will encourage people to not be fooled by the high percent of 5s achieved in AP Computer Science A.  This is largely due to self-selection bias. 

  

I have 2 daughters who both took the AP CS A exam as 8th graders and both got 5's.  

I won't be surprised if there is a positive correlation between kids who did well in MathCounts and/or AMCs/AIME and those who also did well on the AP Computer Science A exam. My definition of did well is scores of 4 and 5.

 

Looking at Oxford's criteria, the aptitude for discrete mathematics and logical thinking are important for computer science

 

"Sitting the MAT The Maths Admissions Test is taken by candidates applying for Computer Science, Mathematics, and joint schools. Candidates answer slightly different questions depending upon the subject applied for. In particular, there are three questions on discrete mathematics and logical thinking, specifically aimed at assessing aptitude for Computer Science." https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/how_to_apply/MAT_test.html

[SanDiegoMom]

My daughter took 11 AP's, mostly in the humanities. Her easiest were Pysch, AP Macro and Environmental Science. She did well on all of them (three fours in AP Micro, Calc and World History) but even though she got a five in Lit and Lang, she felt incredibly drained and unsure of how she did. And Calc was definitely her personal hardest.