PA Homeschoolers - AP Art History course

[EKT]

Lots of questions these past couple of days; thank you for your help!

First: Would AP Art History count as a social science credit, or does it count as an elective/fine arts credit?

Next: I'm considering Amber Kane's AP Art History course (PA Homeschoolers) for my daughter next year (for 10th grade), but we've never done an AP course before and we've never tried PA Homeschoolers. I'm a pretty intimidated about the whole process of entering the world of APs (and frankly, I'm not sure I want to mess with APs at all). But at the same time, I see how they are a good method of norming my student against "regular" kids in school, and it's always good to have experience with outside teachers, etc. All that to say, any reviews/advice/thoughts (about the course, about PA Homeschoolers, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. I mentioned in a previous post that my daughter is an artist planning on art school, so I thought AP art history might be a good place for her to start, as the subject matter is in her comfort zone, but I don't want to throw her to the wolves if the course requires super advanced writing skills. (She is a great student and a very good writer, but her writing skills are obviously still developing, as she's only in ninth grade.) 🙂

[kokotg]

I put it as an elective on my kids' transcripts.

We haven't done the PAH course, but we've done AP art history on our own, and the exam itself does not require very advanced writing skills. A lot of it is memorization; there are 250 required works, and you have to know all of them. Beyond that, there is some basic analysis required, but it's...well, pretty basic...familiarity with artistic techniques and with the politcal/social/etc background of the works. IME, the part that can be overwhelming about AP AH is just the sheer volume of material covered, not the depth of analysis called for. It pairs very well with world history and that would make it easier to fit in/understand a lot of the historical background you need to know.

[fourisenough]

My DD took and loved Amber Kane’s course through PAH. She took the exam in 2020 (so it was the abbreviated, early Covid-era online version). She only scored a 3, even though she knew the material very well. IIRC, they only gave the MC questions and no essay, which wasn’t good for my very strong writer as her essays would have been her strongest part. Anyway, I think it would be a good first AP for an art-inclined younger student.

[Farrar]

I've known several students who have taken Amber Kane's courses and all really liked her. Obviously, it's a pool of kids interested in art from the get go, but beyond that, very different students. You can always take the course and not the exam. Still lots of admissions benefits from that. 

[EKT]

5 hours ago, fourisenough said:

My DD took and loved Amber Kane’s course through PAH. She took the exam in 2020 (so it was the abbreviated, early Covid-era online version). She only scored a 3, even though she knew the material very well. IIRC, they only gave the MC questions and no essay, which wasn’t good for my very strong writer as her essays would have been her strongest part. Anyway, I think it would be a good first AP for an art-inclined younger student.

Thank you; this is so helpful!

[EKT]

Just now, Farrar said:

I've known several students who have taken Amber Kane's courses and all really liked her. Obviously, it's a pool of kids interested in art from the get go, but beyond that, very different students. You can always take the course and not the exam. Still lots of admissions benefits from that. 

Thank you; that is so good to know! (I actually wasn't sure if you could opt out of the exam once you committed to the course.) Helpful!

[Farrar]

4 minutes ago, EKT said:

Thank you; that is so good to know! (I actually wasn't sure if you could opt out of the exam once you committed to the course.) Helpful!

Oh, not only can you opt out, but you have to additionally find your own seat for the exam in a local school. If you're somewhere that makes that hard (like California) then you may not even be able to take the exam.

[EKT]

11 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Oh, not only can you opt out, but you have to additionally find your own seat for the exam in a local school. If you're somewhere that makes that hard (like California) then you may not even be able to take the exam.

Thank you; I was actually going to post a question about that next! We live in Columbus, Ohio. I was just about to start investigating that part of the process. Is there a Motherlode post that explains how you go about finding a seat for the exam? Thank you!!

[daijobu]

Here you go.  It's probably even more difficult during the pandemic, but may be easier next year?

 

[Farrar]

I think it's good to note that people in states where you just call your local school and they all just say, sure, whatever, don't post as often in threads like that. Just a thought. The threads here and elsewhere made me incredibly anxious about finding an AP site, but as it turned out, it was super simple. It's still simple. Well, there's some weirdness. It seems the federal government has accidentally prevented us from doing it here. (Gah, STATEHOOD NOW, people... STATEHOOD!) Luckily, the Maryland schools were happy to have us. Basically, ask locally before you ask here.

[mlktwins]

14 hours ago, Farrar said:

I think it's good to note that people in states where you just call your local school and they all just say, sure, whatever, don't post as often in threads like that. Just a thought. The threads here and elsewhere made me incredibly anxious about finding an AP site, but as it turned out, it was super simple. It's still simple. Well, there's some weirdness. It seems the federal government has accidentally prevented us from doing it here. (Gah, STATEHOOD NOW, people... STATEHOOD!) Luckily, the Maryland schools were happy to have us. Basically, ask locally before you ask here.

It is easy peasy here too in Northern VA!

 

[Farrar]

2 hours ago, mlktwins said:

It is easy peasy here too in Northern VA!

 

Yes, and in Maryland! So there's not a practical reason for my friend to sue DC over lack of access, but here we are. It is really weird. The DC law mandates access, but some aspects of the fact that our school system is actually part of the federal government mean we can't pay for the tests legally. So it is genuinely an odd situation. Sigh.

[EKT]

2 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Yes, and in Maryland! So there's not a practical reason for my friend to sue DC over lack of access, but here we are. It is really weird. The DC law mandates access, but some aspects of the fact that our school system is actually part of the federal government mean we can't pay for the tests legally. So it is genuinely an odd situation. Sigh.

I used to live (and teach high school English) in Maryland, just outside DC! This is all good to know. Maybe if I get desperate, I can call a Montgomery County school and plan a long weekend trip next May, lol. (I'm really sorry it's so tough for homeschooled residents in DC.)

I called my local public school here in Ohio and they were happy to give my daughter a seat; unfortunately, it's a smaller school and they don't offer the AP Art History course. (They were like, "Can we interest you in AP Chem? She can test here for that!" lol.) So I went to the College Board site and I found a handful of schools in my general area that DO offer the APAH test, so I'm going to work my way through them, starting with the closest one. I really hope they are as friendly about the idea as my local school was; it would be nice if this didn't turn into a giant headache. (I don't want to register for the PA Homeschoolers Art History course until I know I can get a test seat!)