AP and other tests in These Uncertain Times

[JennyD]

I have a rising 10th grader.  Our original plan for this year, carefully crafted back in those gloriously innocent pre-pandemic days, involved a couple of SAT subject tests, the PSAT, and at least one AP exam.  

Now, of course, everything has been upended.  

I am wondering how to proceed.  I had heard that the AP at home testing this past May was rather a hash -- is there reason to think that it will be better next spring?   According to the CB website the registration deadline is still November and homeschoolers still need to find a school to accommodate them.  The page helpfully notes that "schools may have their own local deadlines and policies for receiving requests from outside students to test at their school--particularly this year during the ongoing pandemic."  All public high schools in my city -- and some private high schools -- will be online this fall, so I guess I just call up the testing coordinators at home and together we entertain the beguiling fantasy that all will be back to normal by next May?  

I see that CB is proceeding with in-person SAT and SAT subject exams with some minor safety measures in place.  We are extremely not interested in DS taking any sort of health risk to take these exams.  I guess we can wait and see how the spring looks, although again, not super-optimistic about that.

I'd love to just shelve all of this testing stuff until after the pandemic is over but I am worried about 11th grade being very crunched.

What are you doing about these sorts of outside tests this coming academic year?

 

 

[Momto6inIN]

I just talked to the counselor at the public school yesterday to sign my DD up for the PSAT this fall. She acted like it was still on ... so I"ll cross my fingers she's right.

[Miss Tick]

I have my fingers crossed too. My teens' SAT2 was cancelled last spring.I contacted my local school about this fall's PSAT last February (first time high school mom 🙋🏻‍♀️) and she signed us up and said I could contact her again in September, and then the pandemic descended. I'm making myself wait until September before I reach out. Tap-tap-tap-tap....

[fourisenough]

DD is registered for the ACT this fall and we’ll register for AP’s as soon as her host high school goes back in a couple weeks. They might be online again and that’s fine with us. It worked out quite well for DD!

[JennyD]

34 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

DD is registered for the ACT this fall and we’ll register for AP’s as soon as her host high school goes back in a couple weeks. They might be online again and that’s fine with us. It worked out quite well for DD!

 

That's great to hear!  Can I ask what AP test(s) your DD took in the online format?

[BakersDozen]

Finding a school that would accommodate our dd this last year was incredibly tough. Schools here are not welcoming to home schoolers. She was lucky to know the counselor at one school who worked with our dd but that counselor is in a new position and now no one is getting back to us regarding the AP exams. Dd took 4 last year - she was frustrated by the lack of multiple choice and shorter exam time but did just fine. She only has two she wants to take this year and I'm anxiously waiting to hear if any schools will allow her to sign up.

[Momto6inIN]

13 hours ago, SusanC said:

I have my fingers crossed too. My teens' SAT2 was cancelled last spring.I contacted my local school about this fall's PSAT last February (first time high school mom 🙋🏻‍♀️) and she signed us up and said I could contact her again in September, and then the pandemic descended. I'm making myself wait until September before I reach out. Tap-tap-tap-tap....

When I called on Monday she said she was planning on ordering the tests that very afternoon, so I just barely made it!

[fourisenough]

7 hours ago, JennyD said:

 

That's great to hear!  Can I ask what AP test(s) your DD took in the online format?

Sure! She took art history and English language.
 

I think having no MC hurt her on art history as she is a great memorizer and knew those 220 works (or whatever the total is— I forget) inside and out. Her short-essay question was an esoteric one about which she didn’t have much to say, so she scored a 3. 

On the English Language exam, she benefited from the abbreviated format online. The one essay type that was tested was one she knew well and could write in her sleep. She scored a 5. 
 

I suspect if the format had not changed due to the pandemic, she likely would have scored a 4 on each. So, as I said elsewhere on here, you win some, you lose some. But, IMHO, it is absolutely still worth trying!

I will also have her take (if offered) SAT2’s in biology and math 2 in the spring. The online classes she’s taking in those subjects specifically include test prep for the SAT subject tests in their curriculum. So, even if the tests don’t run, she will be prepared just by virtue of completing those courses.

[kokotg]

online APs worked out fine for DS last year, too (he took Euro history and Art History), so I'm not worried about that. I was planning on having him take the chemistry subject test, and I'm scrapping that (he didn't really NEED it; for some subjects they're pretty essential to meet our state flagship's admission requirements for homeschoolers, but they only require "proof" of having taken a physical science and biology). He's very happy about that 🙂 He's just 11th grade this year, and I've read that people with seniors would like it if juniors hold off on the SAT to save room for those who really have to have it this fall, so we'll be waiting until spring for that (he actually took the SAT once last year because he needed it for dual enrollment, so we have a good baseline to work with already).

[Arcadia]

My rising 10th grader did well for 3 out of 4 AP online exams. He didn’t do well for calculus which was expected because he thrive on long math exams, the longer the better (he has stamina, not speed).  He has 8 AP exam scores so he could take none next May for all we care. He has three subject test scores but only two (ironically the best two) showed up in his score report. He is starting dual enrollment next month.
 

My rising 11th grader didn’t do well for the online AP exam and if it’s online exams next year, he’ll just skip. He has 8 AP exams scores as well as three SAT subject test scores. He has 3.85 dual enrollment credits for 10th grade. He is registered for November SAT but we aren’t hopeful that SAT or PSAT would take place this Fall/Winter. All our local schools, community colleges and all CSUs (California) are online for Fall.

[Farrar]

New CB policy explicitly mentioned homeschoolers taking AP exams and waives the late fee for homeschoolers signing up. Coordinators may not have seen that, so you can point it out.

AP's at home were a mess for many... but a success for enough students that I think they'll do it again if they need to. Plus, I think the upside is that they're likely to be at least mildly less of a mess this go around if they're at home again (seems very likely to me!). And colleges know they were a mess. So... I think if your son does poorly, oh well. And if he does well, he'll still get the bump from them.

In terms of other stuff... I would not put your focus on SAT subject tests. They are going the way of the dodo. I mean, yeah if you can get in there and take them and do well, I'm sure it looks good. There are a few schools that still want them from homeschoolers, but only a few. But at this point you're far enough out that I'm like, who knows what will happen with them. Don't put your eggs in that prep/study basket.

For the SAT itself. I think it'll be back by the time your son needs it. The question is more how to time the prep to coincide with when the test is actually offered. And that, I suspect, will be very local and involve luck.

[Roadrunner]

I do think APs will be online this coming year. This year’s exams were a mess in a number of fronts not least because of rampant cheating. 
If they don’t figure out a way to proctor those exams, I don’t think I want to play the game. Our PS friends said a ton of kids faked and said they couldn’t submit to get a second chance and people hired and paid tutors to take exams for them. 

[Farrar]

We also decided not to play after initially planning ds's first AP. Probably the right call for us, but I'm trying not to be judgmental about other choices. We all agree the CB sucks. It's just how we're all going to play the game. Sigh.

[MamaSprout]

Dd is a sophomore, but only because we removed her grade skip when she had health problems her 8th/9th grade year. She still hopes to graduate a year early.

We were able to sign up for the APs, a PSAT and an SAT. We have a homeschool-friendly counselor in a neighboring district. This is way-awesome, because the districts near us are notoriously not homeschool friendly. But I didn't choose classes based on the AP tests, I choose them because I think they are the best option. If the tests don't happen, oh well.

We gave up on the long-planned SAT subject tests. I don't think any of the schools on Dds list are looking at them like they used to, anyhow. She did prep for the CLEP for one, but those haven't happened yet, either.

Edited August 13, 2020 by MamaSprout

[JennyD]

For those of you who have managed to find schools to accommodate your kids for AP tests, any suggestions on navigating the process?  I have read previous threads about talking to testing coordinators about these requests, but now of course it's a whole new ball game.  The CB page seems to say, basically, "We realize that schools are not going to be willing to take outside students, but hey, that's the way the cookie crumbles, good luck."

This is such a dopey system.  

I think what we are going to do is to go ahead with the two STEM classes that were planned to be AP anyway -- one is through an approved online provider, but for the other I'll go through the course audit process so that can also go on his transcript as AP. Then we can see how things unfold with the actual tests over the year.

 

[fourisenough]

13 hours ago, Farrar said:

New CB policy explicitly mentioned homeschoolers taking AP exams and waives the late fee for homeschoolers signing up. Coordinators may not have seen that, so you can point it out.

I haven’t seen this new policy. Can you link? TIA!

[JennyD]

32 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

I haven’t seen this new policy. Can you link? TIA!

 

Here's  the page.  Scroll down for the new policy.  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

5 hours ago, JennyD said:

For those of you who have managed to find schools to accommodate your kids for AP tests, any suggestions on navigating the process?  I have read previous threads about talking to testing coordinators about these requests, but now of course it's a whole new ball game.  The CB page seems to say, basically, "We realize that schools are not going to be willing to take outside students, but hey, that's the way the cookie crumbles, good luck."

This is such a dopey system.  

I think what we are going to do is to go ahead with the two STEM classes that were planned to be AP anyway -- one is through an approved online provider, but for the other I'll go through the course audit process so that can also go on his transcript as AP. Then we can see how things unfold with the actual tests over the year.

 

What I found helpful was to talk directly with the testing coordinator and not let the person answering the phone act as a screener. 

If they said they had no capacity, I asked if they could recommend a school that could accommodate us. Sometimes when I told them that I'd already asked those schools, I got a little more sympathy and support. 

I had good results with private schools. I made sure to say that I understood that we would have to pay the test fee.

At one point I had to contact the district AP Coordinator. She had no authority to compel our local school to accept the registration, but she did get me in touch with the dean of a big deal private school. 

Yes it's a hassle. No, College Board doesn't care that their system restricts access. 

[Arcadia]

5 hours ago, JennyD said:

For those of you who have managed to find schools to accommodate your kids for AP tests, any suggestions on navigating the process?  I have read previous threads about talking to testing coordinators about these requests, but now of course it's a whole new ball game. 

 

The  2021 exam is going to be tough planning for the test coordinators due to COVID. My area is doing fall semester online. If social distancing rules are still in effect in my county in May, then the ones able to host on site exams would be the larger size public and private schools which has plenty of classrooms to spread the students.

ETA:

In my area tech employees are already told they are likely to work from home until June 2021. That’s why I am guessing COVID measures would still be in effect locally. 

Edited August 13, 2020 by Arcadia

[Alice]

Ds is signed up for the SAT in October. He was supposed to test in June but it got canceled. He’s a rising senior but already has SAT and ACT scores that are good enough for everywhere he is really looking. So he’s in an ok place. The only reason to retest is that the last time he took the SAT he was in 9th grade and he should be able to raise his score enough to make a difference for a few scholarships he is looking at. 

There is one school we are looking at that does require SAT II tests for homeschoolers. There are some others we know of that do the same thing but only one on his current list. He took one SAT II test as a sophomore for that reason but the school requires two. I wrote them asking if they would consider substituting an AP test given the limitations this year. They wouldn’t say definitely but said they would consider. At this point it’s not super high on ds’s list so I think he would just choose to not apply. He feels kind of done with proving himself. 🙂

As for AP tests this year....I’m undecided. We have been able to register for AP tests the past two years in our area without much hassle at two different public schools. I haven’t contacted them yet this year so not sure if it will be the same. Ds was one of the people who had trouble submitting in the spring and had to retake his exam. But he was the first week and it seemed like the figured out slightly better procedures for later testers. He is taking classes where he could take as many as 5 exams. But since it won’t really make a difference for college admissions, I’m not sure if he wants to deal with it all again this year. 

[BakersDozen]

We can't find a single school to even put our dd on a wait list for the AP exams. I keep explaining that she doesn't want to take the class, she just needs an official school under which to sign up/test. Nope.

[Roadrunner]

19 minutes ago, BakersDozen said:

We can't find a single school to even put our dd on a wait list for the AP exams. I keep explaining that she doesn't want to take the class, she just needs an official school under which to sign up/test. Nope.

Even the school where she tested last year?

You are scaring me. I was going to wait until after the Labor Day to Star my inquiries. 

[BakersDozen]

14 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Even the school where she tested last year?

You are scaring me. I was going to wait until after the Labor Day to Star my inquiries. 

not even that school. The testing coordinator is in a new position and the new gal is less than accommodating. My daughter is finding she has to slowly and patiently explain the process because the gal just isn't getting it.

[MamaSprout]

For AP/ PSAT, I emailed the counselor directly rather than try to explain myself to several people. Sometimes you can figure out who is the counselor for 10th graders just by looking online. In our area, sometimes it better to try a private school, although that seems to be less the case this year.

[AEC]

On 8/12/2020 at 6:34 AM, Momto6inIN said:

When I called on Monday she said she was planning on ordering the tests that very afternoon, so I just barely made it!

 

What?? Has school even started yet where you are?

If I were a betting person, my money would be on the pandemic being at least as bad next spring as it was last spring, and CB holding on-line testing again. That said, this past year they wouldn't let you signup for a test if you weren't already signed up to have taken it someplace in-person, and I expect they'll do that again.

 

So, yes, we will pretend that this will magically go away, even though in the US we're unwilling to do even easy things to make that happen, and then scramble when it doesn't.

 

 

 

 

[Momto6inIN]

31 minutes ago, AEC said:

 

What?? Has school even started yet where you are?

If I were a betting person, my money would be on the pandemic being at least as bad next spring as it was last spring, and CB holding on-line testing again. That said, this past year they wouldn't let you signup for a test if you weren't already signed up to have taken it someplace in-person, and I expect they'll do that again.

 

So, yes, we will pretend that this will magically go away, even though in the US we're unwilling to do even easy things to make that happen, and then scramble when it doesn't.

 

 

 

 

Yep. Public school started here on Aug 6.

[Runningmom80]

Ugggghhh. I stupidly assumed if we signed up for an AP course through CTY (who we registered for the SAT through!) that they would have a way for us to register to take the AP exam. I just looked and they don’t. 😖 My district is not going to allow DS to take the test. 
 

It sounds like it’s a pretty mixed bag, leaning towards a majority not being successful.  Is it even worth it to take the AP course if he can’t take the test? I’m not worried about college credit per se, just showing a level of rigor. 
 

I guess I answered my own question 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Runningmom80

[JennyD]

5 hours ago, Runningmom80 said:

 Is it even worth it to take the AP course if he can’t take the test? I’m not worried about college credit per se, just showing a level of rigor. 
 

 

I have no idea what the 'correct' answer is here -- this is my first high schooler -- but FWIW we are going to go ahead with our planned AP classes.  I'm waiting a couple of weeks to start contacting schools about letting him take the tests (private schools are just getting started now) and we'll see how that goes.   They will all have to tell me 'no' more than once over the next few months to get rid of me.  

The classes are ones that he would do anyway -- the only difference is that we're going through the Course Audit so they can be labeled as AP -- so there's nothing really lost even if it turns out he can't take the test.  And DH keeps pointing out that even if he can't take these particular tests this year, he may be able to take them in May 2022, presumably after some review.

Edited August 17, 2020 by JennyD

[Runningmom80]

7 hours ago, JennyD said:

 

I have no idea what the 'correct' answer is here -- this is my first high schooler -- but FWIW we are going to go ahead with our planned AP classes.  I'm waiting a couple of weeks to start contacting schools about letting him take the tests (private schools are just getting started now) and we'll see how that goes.   They will all have to tell me 'no' more than once over the next few months to get rid of me.  

The classes are ones that he would do anyway -- the only difference is that we're going through the Course Audit so they can be labeled as AP -- so there's nothing really lost even if it turns out he can't take the test.  And DH keeps pointing out that even if he can't take these particular tests this year, he may be able to take them in May 2022, presumably after some review.

 

I don't know if it's correct either, but that's what we decided after talking it over last night. DS will still get a grade for it, so in the end it's not as big of a deal as I was making it out to be when I first discovered this. The bolded is going to be my plan as well! (And your husband made an excellent point about taking the test another year.)

[LisaKinVA]

While AP tests happened this past spring. My older kids have been completely unable to sit for CLEP exams (which should be much easier to administer, as they are already computerized). But, the testing centers have been closed. The only one that is open in our area is offering ONE test to ONE person each day. Five tests per week. First come, first served. Why? I have no earthly idea. I can't imagine it's that difficult to Social Distance in the testing center, let alone disinfect. 

My rising junior and my 13 year old are taking the PSAT in the fall. Which reminds me, I need to follow up with the school again, and pay the money.

None of my younger children are taking AP exams this year. I may not have any APs until my 13 year old takes hers (she's planning on a couple of Art APs). 

[zarabellesmom]

This would be my daughter's first time sitting for an AP exam and we were going to try US Gov. The couple of schools I called today usually allow homeschool kids but told me that they aren't doing so this year. I was hoping to sign her up for the PSAT as well, but that is a bust so far as well.  😞 

[Arcadia]

20 hours ago, Runningmom80 said:

It sounds like it’s a pretty mixed bag, leaning towards a majority not being successful.  Is it even worth it to take the AP course if he can’t take the test? I’m not worried about college credit per se, just showing a level of rigor. 

It’s also useful for the weighted GPA.