How do you if a student is ready for AP Eng Language?

[Nicholas_mom]

I have a natural writer who loves to write.  He has done IEW in middle school and Lost Tools of Writing Level 1 and is now in Level 2. He can write well.

 

Next school year he is in 10th grade. Is this enough?  Do you think he is ready?  What should I be asking myself to see if he is ready?

[MarkT]

Sounds like your student may be ready.

 

The first English AP is usually:

AP English Language and Composition

taken in 11th grade

 

You may want to take AP World History in 10th and save above for 11th.

Does your student enjoy history?  If not ignore that suggestion.

[Nicholas_mom]

Yeah, he does not like history.  Why AP World History?  Just wondering....Is it easier or better to ease into AP classes?

 

Thanks for posting.

[Lilaclady]

I think you can look up the college board requirements and see if he is on track for the level of writing and analysis. He doesn’t have to know all the terms etc but are they what he can get in another year and half?

You can also contact some of the AP Lang teachers like PA homeschooler and submit a sample of his writing to be evaluated if he is at the level that he can take the AP class. English is so subjective and though most Public school kids take it in 11th there is no reason not to take it earlier if your student is ready.

[GoodGrief]

The teachers at AP Homeschoolers usually require an application to their classes to determine readiness. That might help in the determination.

 

I suspect he would be fine. One of mine did AP Eng Lit in 10th and AP Eng Lang in 11th...Lit is fiction and Eng Lang was non-fiction material. She loved both and the teachers at AP Homeschoolers were both great.

[MarkT]

Yeah, he does not like history.  Why AP World History?  Just wondering....Is it easier or better to ease into AP classes?

 

Thanks for posting.

it's usually the first one

a fair number of 9th and 10th graders take it

[freesia]

The other thing to think about is pacing.  AP English classes have regular 2-3 page papers (every 2 to 3 weeks), at least one 6-10 page project and often extra book club readings.  Is your dc ready to rise to the challenge?  or is that more than you want for your child at this point?  There is also the analysis part.  My ds grew in his ability to analyze as he matured in high school. This isn't tied to intellegence, necessarily,more the ability to interpret what rhetorical techniques were used and why.

[CAJinBE]

If you just want to try an AP, a lot of people start with Human Geography. We did it in ninth just to see what level of work was required and figure out the testing before it was a higher stakes test. My dd passed the test and it was an eye opener to her to see the level of reading required and all the memorization. 

[yvonne]

One factor to consider with AP Eng Lang & Comp or with AP Eng Lit is that, even if a student is capable of succeeding in the class, keeping up with the level and pace of the reading and writing, a 9th or 10th grader is going to be two years less mature and less broadly read than an 11th or 12th grader. The 9th grader can be brilliant, well-read, solid at writing, and just all around wonderful, but that 9th grader will write differently at the end of 9th grade than she will at the end of 11th or 12th grade. She will have had two more years experience and exposure to books and writing if she waits till 11th or 12th. That may or may not make a difference in her AP exam score, and the difference may or may not be important to her.

 

 

[Penelope]

The maturity issue is why I decided to wait and not do it in tenth, although we may not end up doing it at all, it turns out. But I think my own teen will have the ability get a higher score on the exam later. I’d rather a 5 than a 3 or a 4, since part of the point of that particular class would be to exempt from a semester of freshman English in college.

 

Also remember that it isn’t just writing well; to do well on the exam they will need to learn to organize thoughts and write quickly. Quickness has not been a strength here, but I noticed it is improving this year with the continued volume of writing in regular composition and history classes. Something else to think about.

[Nicholas_mom]

Thank you all so much!  These are wonderful, thoughtful points to ponder.