Hi all, As a biology major recently graduated, as well as a science and math tutor, I have also seen the trouble of AP credits in science programs. Many of my peers who "think" they are ready for college-level science from AP classes seem to struggle the most. I also tend to be old-fashioned in thinking that AP coursework tends to be weak and any credit should be given to electives or non-major classes.
Like somebody mentioned earlier, if students are ready for college, just send them to college. I think Head Start and Running Start programs are far more successful than AP and honors programs in high school. Joey Smokey WSU Vancouver On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 12:17 PM, Corbin, Jeffrey D. <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello Ecologgers - Thank you for your quick and numerous responses to my > query about the treatment of ecology in AP classes. I received a wide range > of responses and suggestions. Some summaries: > > Regarding the coverage of ecology in high school AP classes: > > - Based on the College Board's published coverage of biology > material, ecology is 10% of the test. This is comparable to the percentage > for cells, evolutionary biology, and heredity. ("Structure and function of > [organisms]" gets a much larger 32%, but that also encompasses many topics) > > - The logical point was made that if a student received a 4 or 5, > then the student must have retained enough of the ecology material. > > - Several current or former H.S. teachers emailed me to say that > ecology is well-covered. > > - However, I also received far more comments from individuals who > said that their own AP class barely, if at all, covered ecology. Anecdotal > evidence yes, but it was a common comment > > Regarding the awarding of credit in college: > > - I agree with the comments of many that to award credit to > biology majors for a high school class is to place a lot of faith in high > school instruction without any oversight. > > - Many institutions offer no credit; many others offer non-major > credit for a 4 or 5 on the AP. > > If nothing else, this informal survey did forestall a hasty decision on > our part, and I think we are going to do a more complete survey of what is > common for Colleges and Departments like ours. > > Thanks again for all of the generous responses. > > -Jeff > > *************************** > Jeffrey D. Corbin > Department of Biological Sciences > Union College > Schenectady, NY 12308 > (518) 388-6097 > *************************** >
