Mark Cruthers left a comment on our blog with a pointer to a presentation he has on why homeschool students should be taking AP tests. (To see the presentation you have to enter the code on the screen.) The presentation may be based on a speech he gave last year to the California Homeschool Network Family Expo.
Mark is very supportive of homeschoolers. He is trying to inform parents on their options for helping their children prepare for college. I found slide 43 the most interesting. It says that the number one factor affecting admissions to college is grades in advanced rigorous classes like AP courses. It was almost twice as important as SAT & ACT tests.
Our oldest daughter is only 12. My wife and I haven't worked out in detail how to help her get ready for college. Currently she is taking a couple distance learning classes. Over time we'll have her take more and more classes online. Many of these will be college courses. At some point we expect that she'll attend the local junior colleges. Then when she turns 18 or so she'll head off to a university.
When I entered high school I didn't have a clue on what was an AP class. By the end of my sophomore year I knew about AP classes; I was on track for taking the AP calculus class. I took the normal US History class in my junior year. I had a friend who was taking the Advance Placement US History class. Near the end of the year we got to talking about the upcoming AP test. Kind as a lark I took the test and got a 2. (The AP tests are rated 1 to 5. A 5 means the students has mastery of the material.) I decided that I could do better and arranged to audit the AP US History class in my senior year. I received a 4 on the test! I also received a 4 on the AP Calculus test and a 3 on the European History test. I had a total of 20 units as I headed off to the university after high school.
If you haven't been exposed to AP tests before, you might find Mark's presentation educational. Mark gives a number of reasons why students should prepare for AP tests and take them.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, education, college, university, Advance Placement
1 comment:
Twenty-two years ago I chose not to take the AP English test. My ACT score already exempted me from two quarters of freshman English. My only incentive was to score a 5 on the AP exam to get out of the third quarter. My friend with a 4.0+ GPA took the test and earned a 5 score. The same university only gave him the same two quarters freshman English credit because his ACT score in English was about a 24. I think I had a 29. We were incredulous at the time.
We didn't see anything at college that was as useful as our HS AP class. A lot of it was repeated. If the AP work is still as rigorous, I am glad it is being preferred over the ACT score.
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