Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[robinb]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

 

[Tinijocaro]

This was the old SAT and he too, got a perfect on the math! We just thought, since the ACT is usually a bit easier, what if he did even better on the ACT. Doesn't hurt to try to put yourself in an even higher category.

As it turns out, he didn't do better on the ACT-got a 32 so he'll just send his SAT scores.

 

[Poohforyou]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

Oh no that's awful, I'm sorry. It's terrible to work hard all year and not see the results of that. I hope rescoring gives you a better outcome or at least some more information. My dd didn't take comp because the teacher is just an awful witch. She had her last year and once was enough. Lots of dd's friends took it though. You're right to contact the school, they should know.

 

[McKelly]

So, to the parents whose kids are scoring in the 30's on their ACT - and are disappointed - are your kids trying to get into the Ivy's or other very prestigious schools? My DD scored a 30 on her ACT - but the score the three schools she is looking at attending only require a 24 for admittance. I don't think she needed to take it again - what would be the benefit of that? Just wondering if I am missing something? She already qualifies for all the presidential scholarships at the schools with her GPA and ACT score. Are there additional scholarships out there that look at ACT score alone?

 

[SmallWorld71]

So, to the parents whose kids are scoring in the 30's on their ACT - and are disappointed - are your kids trying to get into the Ivy's or other very prestigious schools? My DD scored a 30 on her ACT - but the score the three schools she is looking at attending only require a 24 for admittance. I don't think she needed to take it again - what would be the benefit of that? Just wondering if I am missing something? She already qualifies for all the presidential scholarships at the schools with her GPA and ACT score. Are there additional scholarships out there that look at ACT score alone?

DS was considering taking it again. His composite was good, a 33. But he did terrible on the writing. He got a 24 and it sticks out like a sore thumb next to his other scores. It kind of depends on how he did on the new SAT. He may apply to a couple of Ivy league schools, but they could be a long shot and he doesn't have his heart set on one, or anything.

 

[SmallWorld71]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

How strange and frustrating!
We had the exact opposite experience. DS struggled with English all year; he did end up with a B+ for his final grade, but he had to work for it. And, writing is a weak area for him. He got a 5 on the test. It does seem like maybe your DD wasn't learning the right things in that class to prepare for the test.

Overall, he is very happy with his scores: 5 in English, Calculus, and Environmental science and 3 in US history.

 

[mom2rtk]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

I agree with contacting the principal. Our older son didn't do well on one of his AP exams (after getting an A in the class) and we found out the teacher (in his first year teaching an AP class) hadn't even gotten through the syllabus before his AP World History exam. He was being tested on some periods of time that weren't even covered in class.

 

[mamacatnv]

When will the May SAT Scores be available? I thought today.

Funny you should ask - this email came to my DD on Thursday July 7th from College Board - 9 days notice. Every kid who took the SAT on May 7th at this test center has 9 days notice to retake. My DD is furious. Several of her friends who are affected are out of town and cannot make the make up date. Also, the make up location is over an hours drive from our area. DD will have to take an day off her summer job at short notice in order to accommodate this make up date.

Below is the email we received from College Board.......

Dear Test-Taker:


We regret to inform you that we have not yet received the entire shipment containing SAT® and SAT Subject Test answer sheets from your Saturday, May 7, 2016 test center, XXXXX HIGH SCHOOL, at our processing center. Unfortunately, the shipment is still unaccounted for, despite exhaustive search efforts. Although we will continue to make every effort to find the missing answer sheets, experience has shown that if materials have not arrived by this point, they are unlikely to be located. For this reason, we have made arrangements for you to take a makeup test on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

Makeup Information:

To take the makeup test, please report by 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2016 to the test center noted below. You will be issued an updated Admission Ticket by mail, or you can print it through your online account at collegeboard.org/mysat. On test day, be sure to bring your updated Admission Ticket along with your acceptable photo identification with you to the test center — you will not be admitted without them. Check your Admission Ticket for what else to bring on test day. If you are registered for the SAT or SAT with Essay, you may opt in or out of the Essay at check-in as long as sufficient materials, space, and staff are available to accommodate the change. However, you will not be permitted to change your test type from the SAT (with or without the optional Essay) to Subject Tests, or the reverse, on test day. A complete list of test-day guidelines can be found online at sat.org/test-day and in the Student Registration Guide.

Your scores from this makeup test will be reported as Saturday, May 7, 2016 test scores. Scores are usually available about seven weeks after a makeup administration. If you have concerns about the timing of your score report delivery to colleges and scholarship programs, please contact SAT Customer Service at the number below. Note: please remember that there is a fee for sending score reports, starting ten days after your original test date.


Other Testing Options:

If you are unable to attend the makeup, you are entitled to a free transfer to a published test date. To transfer, please call SAT Customer Service (see the number below). As you consider your options, please keep in mind that some tests may only be offered once or twice a year (for example, certain SAT Subject Tests) and that the makeup might be your only opportunity to take the test for which you registered. Please visit sat.org/register for a schedule of available SAT test dates. You may also want to check directly with the colleges and scholarship programs to which you are applying to make certain of their deadlines for receipt of test scores. Check sat.org/scores for detailed score availability information.


For the SAT only: if you ordered the SAT Question-and-Answer Service for your original test date, it is not offered for the makeup test, and any fees will be refunded automatically. The Student Answer Service is still available for the makeup test.



We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused you, and we assure you that every effort is being made to locate the shipment of answer sheets. If the shipment is located before the makeup test is administered, we will notify you immediately, cancel the makeup, and expedite the scoring of your answer sheet.

 

[Poohforyou]

So, to the parents whose kids are scoring in the 30's on their ACT - and are disappointed - are your kids trying to get into the Ivy's or other very prestigious schools? My DD scored a 30 on her ACT - but the score the three schools she is looking at attending only require a 24 for admittance. I don't think she needed to take it again - what would be the benefit of that? Just wondering if I am missing something? She already qualifies for all the presidential scholarships at the schools with her GPA and ACT score. Are there additional scholarships out there that look at ACT score alone?

Obviously I can only speak for my daughter. She may apply to Columbia to see if she can get in but the ivys aren't on her list of real contenders. She took the old SAT once last fall and scored over a 2200.

I've suggested her taking the ACT or the new SAT but she isn't interested. Obviously that's a really good score but there is always a chance for improvement. The schools she's interested in don't have an absolute minimum score. They are trending towards a holistic approach.

Obviously the higher the score the better for scholarships, making the first cut with admissions, etc. However, I think that has to be tempered with knowing when enough is enough. I don't have a child who is easily swayed to do what we want so that is a factor as well.

Your daughter has a really good score if she's happy and knows all of facts about what her schools expect that's what matters.

 

[mamacatnv]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

My DS graduated in 2008 so I am not sure if things have changed but we had the same issues. He took several AP classes, pulled straight A's and never did well on the AP tests. He is a good test taker, he scored a 32 on the ACT with no prep so it was not a test taking issue. What we learned is that AP has no set curriculum, the success really depends on each individual teacher and how experienced they are as well as how good their training is and how it is delivered to the students in the classroom. This is the reason we did not encourage DD to pursue AP, it is also one of the reasons that more and more schools are not taking the credits. The program is too inconsistent in its delivery to the students. DD has taken a few AP and has done well on the test but she is in the IB program that has a better structure of curriculum.

Ask your district what their pass rate is on AP exams as a whole. My DS's high school could not provide us that detail, we took it to the district and learned that district wide (12 high schools) the pass rate was a dismal approx. 20% with a 3 or better district wide and DS's high school was under 10% with a 3 or better. This was attributed to lack of training and the schools offering AP so they would make the Best High School lists etc. DS's high school also allowed any student to enroll in AP, there were no pre-req's and the teachers commented that they were having to slow down/dumb down their lessons to accommodate all students. Other schools in our district had pre-req's and thus, better scores overall. It really is a travesty in many school districts.

 

[robinb]

I just read that the MEAN score for the language Comp AP test in 2015 was a 2.79 and nearly HALF of the students taking the tests FAIL. What a freaking crock of crap.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_English_Language_and_Composition

(Yeah, I know it's a Wiki but still ...)

 

[AustinTink]

I agree with contacting the principal. Our older son didn't do well on one of his AP exams (after getting an A in the class) and we found out the teacher (in his first year teaching an AP class) hadn't even gotten through the syllabus before his AP World History exam. He was being tested on some periods of time that weren't even covered in class.

What was done once you contacted the principal? We have a similar situation. First year teacher, teaching AP Physics of all things. My son struggled all year as did most of the class. And his AP test score sucked. What can be done at this point? Just wondering what the outcome was once you contacted administration.

 

[AustinTink]

My DD's AP score SUCKED. She got a "2" in Language Comp after getting A's all 4 quarters. I am so freaking MAD right now. I will pay to have the test rescored but I think I'm just throwing good money after bad.

I WILL be sending a letter to the school principal and the head of the English department. Should should not have failed the AP test with A's in the class. Something is seriously wrong because they did not prepare her for the test. In addition, writing essays is totally in her wheelhouse so I don't know how she did so poorly.

I feel your pain. My son got a 2 on his AP Physics test. We knew it was coming though. The teacher was brand new to teaching and did not have a background in Physics! She showed the John Green science videos in class instead of teaching, and would give them random 100's on test grades that were never taken to cover up her inadequacies. He did well enough in the class because of this false reporting that she did. We, the parents, all reached out to the head of the department and the principal about it. Nothing happened.

 

[mom2rtk]

What was done once you contacted the principal? We have a similar situation. First year teacher, teaching AP Physics of all things. My son struggled all year as did most of the class. And his AP test score sucked. What can be done at this point? Just wondering what the outcome was once you contacted administration.

Nothing that I was privy to. But I really had no expectation that anything could be done for us at that point. I just wanted to make the principal aware of what happened to hopefully avoid it for other students in subsequent years.

I don't believe that teacher is still there. But then, for some reason (nobody is talking) most of the teachers turned over in the 2 years between our second son graduating and our daughter entering high school last year.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

My DS graduated in 2008 so I am not sure if things have changed but we had the same issues. He took several AP classes, pulled straight A's and never did well on the AP tests. He is a good test taker, he scored a 32 on the ACT with no prep so it was not a test taking issue. What we learned is that AP has no set curriculum, the success really depends on each individual teacher and how experienced they are as well as how good their training is and how it is delivered to the students in the classroom. This is the reason we did not encourage DD to pursue AP, it is also one of the reasons that more and more schools are not taking the credits. The program is too inconsistent in its delivery to the students. DD has taken a few AP and has done well on the test but she is in the IB program that has a better structure of curriculum.

Ask your district what their pass rate is on AP exams as a whole. My DS's high school could not provide us that detail, we took it to the district and learned that district wide (12 high schools) the pass rate was a dismal approx. 20% with a 3 or better district wide and DS's high school was under 10% with a 3 or better. This was attributed to lack of training and the schools offering AP so they would make the Best High School lists etc. DS's high school also allowed any student to enroll in AP, there were no pre-req's and the teachers commented that they were having to slow down/dumb down their lessons to accommodate all students. Other schools in our district had pre-req's and thus, better scores overall. It really is a travesty in many school districts.

This is SO true. I had a teacher while I was in HS that had a personal pass rate on the AP exams of over 80%. My senior year we all got 4s or 5s, and she had been teaching AP Calc BC for YEARS at this point, so she was very experienced with what to expect the test to include. In terms of the English Comp AP exam, I have heard that is a rarely passed exam and chose to take AP Lit instead because of this. It really does vary so much based on the particular teacher's skill set and knowledge, which is a true shame.

 

[AustinTink]

Nothing that I was privy to. But I really had no expectation that anything could be done for us at that point. I just wanted to make the principal aware of what happened to hopefully avoid it for other students in subsequent years.

I don't believe that teacher is still there. But then, for some reason (nobody is talking) most of the teachers turned over in the 2 years between our second son graduating and our daughter entering high school last year.

Nothing happened in our case either. This teacher is a sister sent to our school from the motherhouse in Michigan. Our administration is too afraid to ruffle any feathers with the head of the order, so she will stay at our school and continue to teach the class.

 

[Poohforyou]

What was done once you contacted the principal? We have a similar situation. First year teacher, teaching AP Physics of all things. My son struggled all year as did most of the class. And his AP test score sucked. What can be done at this point? Just wondering what the outcome was once you contacted administration.

My dd had issues with AP physics this year. It was the 1st year for the course. Previously it had been an honors class. Dd got an A in the class but a 3 on the exam. She got two 4 and one 5 on her other AP exams and had A's in those classes as well.

Half way through the year DD said she could self study for the exam or follow what the teacher was teaching. After consulting some school administrative friends we decided it was more important to do well in the class for the year than do well on a single exam.

I didn't say anything to her school last year but plan to in the next week or so. Although I don't know how much weight it will carry since dd did ok on the exam. Not well enough to get college credit but we'll enough overall. Our district isn't normally happy with well enough though so we'll see.

On the flip side my daughter's AP us history and stat teachers have been teaching for years and have over 90% of students scoring a 4 or 5. Part of that is making the qualifying classes very difficult so only those students likely to do well take the AP classes.

 

[SmallWorld71]

What was done once you contacted the principal? We have a similar situation. First year teacher, teaching AP Physics of all things. My son struggled all year as did most of the class. And his AP test score sucked. What can be done at this point? Just wondering what the outcome was once you contacted administration.

I live in a small town where there is one high school with graduating classes around 70 or so students. You go there or pay for private school out of town. The principal has made AP classes a priority. Professional development is really needed for the teachers. Another thing that can be done is having the teachers become part of the group that grades the tests. The AP science teacher does this and he has gained wonderful insight from it and this has helped him know what his students need to know. The principal also allowed teachers some choice in what they wanted to teach and moved people around accordingly. Our scores have risen tremendously. Over 40% of our students are below the poverty line so we are not a wealthy community.

Also, there is no excuse for the teachers not finishing the curriculum. It should have been mapped out carefully ahead of time. (Which again requires time and training for the teachers)
DS had tons of homework last summer to prepare for the classes. He had multiple chapters in history, calculus, and environmental science that he needed to know and several books and papers he had to complete for English. This allowed the teachers to delve right in on day one.

I do think that if enough people say something it can make a difference.

 

[mom2rtk]

Nothing happened in our case either. This teacher is a sister sent to our school from the motherhouse in Michigan. Our administration is too afraid to ruffle any feathers with the head of the order, so she will stay at our school and continue to teach the class.

That's really unfortunate.

My dd had issues with AP physics this year. It was the 1st year for the course. Previously it had been an honors class. Dd got an A in the class but a 3 on the exam. She got two 4 and one 5 on her other AP exams and had A's in those classes as well.

Half way through the year DD said she could self study for the exam or follow what the teacher was teaching. After consulting some school administrative friends we decided it was more important to do well in the class for the year than do well on a single exam.

I didn't say anything to her school last year but plan to in the next week or so. Although I don't know how much weight it will carry since dd did ok on the exam. Not well enough to get college credit but we'll enough overall. Our district isn't normally happy with well enough though so we'll see.

I think it does come down to that sort of choice in many cases. Seeing how busy some of these kids are already those last couple of years in high school, I can see making a conscious choice to just try to do well in the class and hope for the best on the AP exam. We know more about what to expect now, but doubt that even advance knowledge will help her overcome a sub-par AP teacher if that happens to her as well.

Our second son got credit in all the AP exams he took, but he was a very strong student and I think pretty much did it in spite of the teachers.

In the end, our personal approach is that we don't put that much importance on any of the specific AP or dual credit courses in high school. I tend to look at them as preparation for taking them in college instead. I just don't believe that something taught in a high school classroom is a good replacement for something taught in a college classroom. Our rising senior is a Chem E major and chose to retake some of those classes in college anyway to lay a solid foundation in his major. Although I will say that he did appreciate being able to use some of that credit to offset some labs and electives and give him a lighter schedule part of the time.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Funny you should ask - this email came to my DD on Thursday July 7th from College Board - 9 days notice. Every kid who took the SAT on May 7th at this test center has 9 days notice to retake. My DD is furious. Several of her friends who are affected are out of town and cannot make the make up date. Also, the make up location is over an hours drive from our area. DD will have to take an day off her summer job at short notice in order to accommodate this make up date.

Below is the email we received from College Board.......

Dear Test-Taker:


We regret to inform you that we have not yet received the entire shipment containing SAT® and SAT Subject Test answer sheets from your Saturday, May 7, 2016 test center, XXXXX HIGH SCHOOL, at our processing center. Unfortunately, the shipment is still unaccounted for, despite exhaustive search efforts. Although we will continue to make every effort to find the missing answer sheets, experience has shown that if materials have not arrived by this point, they are unlikely to be located. For this reason, we have made arrangements for you to take a makeup test on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

Makeup Information:

To take the makeup test, please report by 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2016 to the test center noted below. You will be issued an updated Admission Ticket by mail, or you can print it through your online account at collegeboard.org/mysat. On test day, be sure to bring your updated Admission Ticket along with your acceptable photo identification with you to the test center — you will not be admitted without them. Check your Admission Ticket for what else to bring on test day. If you are registered for the SAT or SAT with Essay, you may opt in or out of the Essay at check-in as long as sufficient materials, space, and staff are available to accommodate the change. However, you will not be permitted to change your test type from the SAT (with or without the optional Essay) to Subject Tests, or the reverse, on test day. A complete list of test-day guidelines can be found online at sat.org/test-day and in the Student Registration Guide.

Your scores from this makeup test will be reported as Saturday, May 7, 2016 test scores. Scores are usually available about seven weeks after a makeup administration. If you have concerns about the timing of your score report delivery to colleges and scholarship programs, please contact SAT Customer Service at the number below. Note: please remember that there is a fee for sending score reports, starting ten days after your original test date.


Other Testing Options:

If you are unable to attend the makeup, you are entitled to a free transfer to a published test date. To transfer, please call SAT Customer Service (see the number below). As you consider your options, please keep in mind that some tests may only be offered once or twice a year (for example, certain SAT Subject Tests) and that the makeup might be your only opportunity to take the test for which you registered. Please visit sat.org/register for a schedule of available SAT test dates. You may also want to check directly with the colleges and scholarship programs to which you are applying to make certain of their deadlines for receipt of test scores. Check sat.org/scores for detailed score availability information.


For the SAT only: if you ordered the SAT Question-and-Answer Service for your original test date, it is not offered for the makeup test, and any fees will be refunded automatically. The Student Answer Service is still available for the makeup test.



We apologize for the inconvenience this situation has caused you, and we assure you that every effort is being made to locate the shipment of answer sheets. If the shipment is located before the makeup test is administered, we will notify you immediately, cancel the makeup, and expedite the scoring of your answer sheet.

What a pain!