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2018 AP Thread


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How are your students doing?  My ds is so much more focused this year as a 12th grader.  Instead of encouraging him to study, I find myself trying to calm him down.  Really, these scores don't matter so much.  Yes, it would be awesome if he could take a semester off or graduate early, but it is not worth him getting wound up, or missing some planned social activities. This is particularly true as he is in fine shape according to his practice tests and, I really think, if he didn't study one more bit, he'd pull at least a 4 in all of them, which is what he needs for credit.

I did have a moment of small panic when the contact at school wasn't writing me back to confirm this week.  ACK!  But, I finally heard today.

Oh, and he's taking Psychology, English Lit, US Gov't and Statistics.

How are things at your house?

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My senior has three exams this year and my junior has two. They are studying hard this week. The cool thing is that we have to go to The Netherlands to take them. The American school near us won't let us test anymore. I am looking forward to renting a bicycle and exploring the dunes, villages, and bulb fields while my kids do their tests. 

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DD16 has 3 - Bio & both Econs.  We're definitely in calming down mode, helping him schedule/pace review.  I'm convinced he'll do awesome, he is not. par for the course.

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My 10th grade dd is anxious about the AP Latin exam, but I haven't seen that translate into a lot of extra studying.

My 12th grade boys are much more relaxed about their APs this year than they were last year.

Maybe it's something in the water at our house. I'd be studying constantly if it were me taking APs.

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My 11th grader just has BC Calc this year (he's mostly doing DE in place of APs now). My husband is a calculus teacher, so I've had absolutely no AP teaching responsibilities this year (DH even e-mailed around and found the testing site!) 

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2 hours ago, CAJinBE said:

My senior has three exams this year and my junior has two. They are studying hard this week. The cool thing is that we have to go to The Netherlands to take them. The American school near us won't let us test anymore. I am looking forward to renting a bicycle and exploring the dunes, villages, and bulb fields while my kids do their tests. 

Awesome!

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58 minutes ago, yvonne said:

My 10th grade dd is anxious about the AP Latin exam, but I haven't seen that translate into a lot of extra studying.

My 12th grade boys are much more relaxed about their APs this year than they were last year.

Maybe it's something in the water at our house. I'd be studying constantly if it were me taking APs.

My ds used to be like your dd--anxious but not studying. That exasperated me. But I am also a bit exasperated by the anxiety even when totally ready. Next year will be good--ds and I need some space lol

I'll get a year off from APs, I think. 

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4 hours ago, CAJinBE said:

My senior has three exams this year and my junior has two. They are studying hard this week. The cool thing is that we have to go to The Netherlands to take them. The American school near us won't let us test anymore. I am looking forward to renting a bicycle and exploring the dunes, villages, and bulb fields while my kids do their tests. 

My son took an AP exam in the Netherlands last year. Maybe the same school! This year, we are in the US. 

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DS took both his DE exams yesterday, so today was his day off before shifting his focus to AP exams! He's taking English Lit, Physics C, and French this year, so he does have adequate time left to study. He's convinced himself that he "needs" 5s in Physics, but seems to be taking a more relaxed approach to English and French. When he showed me his study schedule this evening and I commented on how little time he'd allotted for them, his response was, "Mom, at this point I either speak the language or I don't." So that's comforting...

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My older one is doing Physics 1, Govt, and Micro. Physics is taking almost all her time. The review book seems much easier than the course she took so we aren't sure what to expect. My younger one is doing French and Biology. She isn't too worried about the French except for just the awkwardness of the oral part. She is the only student taking the exam. Biology is her tough one. At this point there isn't much I can do to help. Just get them where they need to be on time and pray. 

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D'S is doing Calc BC. I've been completely hands off after handing him the AoPS book and the test prep books that Kathy in Richmond recommended from Amazon lol

He feels prepared and is getting excited to get it over with. He's pretty much done with all his senior year coursework and this exam will probably be his last "assignment" of his homeschooling career *sniff*

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1 minute ago, Momto5inIN said:

D'S is doing Calc BC. I've been completely hands off after handing him the AoPS book and the test prep books that Kathy in Richmond recommended from Amazon lol

He feels prepared and is getting excited to get it over with. He's pretty much done with all his senior year coursework and this exam will probably be his last "assignment" of his homeschooling career *sniff*

With four APs, ds will be mostly done when they are finished. I don't think it has sunk in yet for him. He has worked so hard the past two years, it is nice he'll have a bit of a break before college. 

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My DD17 is in good shape for Lit, Stats, and Psych. Her biology class has been awful and she lacks both the motivation and time to self-study for it, so we’re both resigned to a rough schore on that one. Older daughter had a different teacher for AP Bio at same school and had a much better experience. You win some and you lose some, I suppose.

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DD is focused on her English AP test - but she's tense about it. So we mapped out a contingency plan just to take some of the mental stress off of her. I feel fairly certain that, on test day, she'll score a 4 or a 5. She's a Game Day kind of kid.

DS had a big music opportunity fall into his lap, and therefore decided to not finish his AP Psychology class this year (we've just moved it to next year since he had plenty of credits this year). So he's just taking the AP Comp Sci A test this year (even though I'm paying for both tests! ARGH)

It'll be a first for both of them!

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DS14 is taking APs for the first time but lucked into the ideal schedule. Psych on the very 1st day and Microeconomics on the very last day of APs - giving him 2 full weeks to study for Micro exclusively.

DS16 is taking 4 total (Bio, Comp Sci A, Psych, and Stats). The Bio seems to be sucking up all his study time - I hope not to the detriment of the others. In previous years, we did 3 tests and I think that's the sweet spot for him - 4 is stressing him out much more.

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My ds16 is taking 4. He's not really stressed by English Lit, and only somewhat by music theory. The ones he is really worried about are AB calculus and physics C mechanics. It's unfortunate that this week he's been in a show that has had rehearsals/performances every night, and Saturday there are two performances (matinee and evening). Luckily this weekend will be the end of it, and the first week he only has the English test.

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Just AP Latin on the last Friday, and one is enough. I'm not sure how anyone can manage 3. DD didn't even have a passport until a few weeks ago; she would have walked in with a notarized photo and statement, the same one she used to take the SAT. That would have been a disaster.

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36 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

Just AP Latin on the last Friday, and one is enough. I'm not sure how anyone can manage 3. DD didn't even have a passport until a few weeks ago; she would have walked in with a notarized photo and statement, the same one she used to take the SAT. That would have been a disaster.

 

Why would it have been a disaster?  Isn't a notarized photo sufficient?

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32 minutes ago, yvonne said:

 

Why would it have been a disaster?  Isn't a notarized photo sufficient?

I thought it would be accepted because it's the same College Board, but apparently the requirements are different. I can't exactly remember how I even stumbled across this, but I had to call the CB for something else and offhandedly asked if the same statement could be used. Apparently only government issued IDs are accepted for AP exams. We wouldn't have been able to obtain a state ID in time; slots prior to May 18 was filled up already, so the only other option, and an expensive one at that, was getting a passport.

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16 minutes ago, crazyforlatin said:

I thought it would be accepted because it's the same College Board, but apparently the requirements are different. I can't exactly remember how I even stumbled across this, but I had to call the CB for something else and offhandedly asked if the same statement could be used. Apparently only government issued IDs are accepted for AP exams. We wouldn't have been able to obtain a state ID in time; slots prior to May 18 was filled up already, so the only other option, and an expensive one at that, was getting a passport.


Yikes. Thank you for posting this.  I'd assumed one would be acceptable for either SAT or AP.  We've always used passports, but they expire soon. I'll have to be sure to get my dd's renewed before next year's APs.

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Dd16 is taking 2 APs this year--AP Lang & Comp and AP US Gov & Politics.

She has been ready for AP Lang since March!  Favorite subject & class (BlueTent) and feels very prepared! Will do some last minute review once AP Gov is over on Thursday!

AP Gov has been a bit tougher. Didn't take an official class and changed materials constantly (although stuck with the original AP Gov textbook) plus it is just not her forte. Dd finally got through the Barron's book yesterday and is doing some further studying. I think she will be ready but definitely stressful trying to complete everything she wanted to do for the course!

Good luck to all the exam takers this week and next!

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Ds is in AP Psych right now.  He seemed calm (third year of APs).  I even sent him into the high school alone.  He went out to a youth group bbq last night and stayed late, which surprised and pleased me.  I did have to tell him to turn off his light at 12, though.

US Government is the one that I'm not completely sure about right now. 

How did Chem go this am for those whose dcs took it?

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This afternoon we arrived at our cute little townhouse in a small village outside The Hague. Dd18 has her Physics 1 exam tomorrow at a school she has only been in once before but they have been very accommodating. She isn't feeling super prepared but after the test we will take a break by renting bikes and heading to the beach for dinner and some relaxing. The weather is amazingly warm and sunny. I could get used to this! I hope my dd16 tests here next year.

 

Good luck to everyone!

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12 minutes ago, CAJinBE said:

This afternoon we arrived at our cute little townhouse in a small village outside The Hague. Dd18 has her Physics 1 exam tomorrow at a school she has only been in once before but they have been very accommodating. She isn't feeling super prepared but after the test we will take a break by renting bikes and heading to the beach for dinner and some relaxing. The weather is amazingly warm and sunny. I could get used to this! I hope my dd16 tests here next year.

 

Good luck to everyone!

Best.after.test.plan.EVER

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Ds had time to spare on psych also. He fixed on telling me what he didn't think he got, but it sounds as if it went well--he was pleased and, as this is his fourth AP, I think he had a good gauge of how he does. 

Very happy to put away a set of school books and work. 

He got his schedule for first semester freshman year today and it looks really good. It's an exciting time. 

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22 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

@freesia Interested to hear how AP Stats goes as we are looking at Edhesive for next year's Stats.

Chem is also of interest. :cool:

I will let you know for sure.  Overall I can say we liked the class, but there were some glitches with regard to being homeschoolers that hadn't been worked out.  So, make sure, if you use them, that you will have materials to grade (a lot is graded on the computer, but there are the FRQs that need to be graded by a teacher--it's easy and straight forward even if you have no stats background. However, I wasn't expecting it and, at first, I didn't have the materials.  They told me they are working on a permanant solution.  I'm not sure why they can't let us be coaches as they did with AP Comp when ds took that, but I'm sure they have a reason.

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26 minutes ago, freesia said:

I will let you know for sure.  Overall I can say we liked the class, but there were some glitches with regard to being homeschoolers that hadn't been worked out.  So, make sure, if you use them, that you will have materials to grade (a lot is graded on the computer, but there are the FRQs that need to be graded by a teacher--it's easy and straight forward even if you have no stats background. However, I wasn't expecting it and, at first, I didn't have the materials.  They told me they are working on a permanant solution.  I'm not sure why they can't let us be coaches as they did with AP Comp when ds took that, but I'm sure they have a reason.

 

If I were guessing, the AP CS course may use material that Edhesive developed independently.  The Economics course might be using more material that assumes the teacher has an audited syllabus with College Board and therefore has access to the secure docs on the teacher site.

 

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15 minutes ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

 

If I were guessing, the AP CS course may use material that Edhesive developed independently.  The Economics course might be using more material that assumes the teacher has an audited syllabus with College Board and therefore has access to the secure docs on the teacher site.

 

No, there was a teacher packet and they did send it to me.  It just wasn't the plan.  I don't think they really thought through that part with homeschoolers.  It's like the decision to not let homeschoolers be coaches was separate from the set up of the class needing teacher grading (since the Comp Sci didn't).  It wasn't really a big problem, they were very responsive and sent me everything I needed.  It's just something I hope they clear up so it isn't a problem each year.

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Dd is taking her first AP exam this year.  AP Latin, which is the last Friday so she is still frantically studying.  We have to travel to another state (with a time zone change) for the exam so I am working out the logistics.  Good to know on the passport....I did not even think about ID!  I think I am more nervous than dd is.  

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On 5/7/2018 at 2:29 PM, yvonne said:

DS thought AP Chem went well. Usually he thinks he did poorly and it turns out he did well. I hope that doesn't work in reverse!

 

‘My kid had an extremely sulky face while the proctor was doing a roll call at 7:30am because it was the first time he had an exam on a Monday morning. Luckily the Physics C exams are on Monday afternoon and he needs to report at 11:30am so not as bad for my night owl. The proctor was probably used to kids and their Monday blues ?

He told me he skipped most of the “marketing” questions on the test booklet and picked the option that he is doing the exam for college credit as the choice for why he is sitting for the exam. He said the second best answer for him would have been parents recommended he take the exam. 

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Today is AP #2 - Literature. DS17 was a bit discouraged after Chem on Monday - thought he was solid on the FRQs, but quite a few of the multiple choice threw him. He feels really good going into Lit, but so much will depend on whether the essay topics resonate with him. And no break afterwards, Government is tomorrow. He is complaining about the crunch and not appreciative when I point out that it is similar to finals week at college. 

Good luck everyone!

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3 hours ago, CAJinBE said:

dd thought the Physics 1 exam was pretty hard. She expects to do better on Government and Micro. 

I think the physics 1 is hard. So did ds, and he got a solid A in AP physics. I think they need to redo that test as it seems teachers and students have a hard time preparing well. 

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Ds came out of English Lit beaming.  He felt great about the MCs and fine about the essays, although unsure if he used enough detail (probably not, says mom in her head).  But the fact he felt good about it means he probably did really well overall. 

2 down! 2 to go!  and 2 fewer classes to the end of high school.  Tomorrow is US government and that will be a huge weight off his schedule.

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I don't think DD is doing any extra preparing for AP Lang. She registered at the local high school and all the AP students have to take the test at the Vo-Tech college for some reason and they have to bet there at 7AM and it's our anniversary.  It's the very last thing she has to do!  Her little hybrid school holds graduation the following day!  

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