Is It Worth It?

 Teresa

I thought that your post was very interesting and right on target in that I feel the same way you are feeling. It is frustrating to me because although I did know and understand what I was getting into last year, I feel that we should all be given a choice into whether or not we want to go through with paying the fees and taking a test that in most situations doesn't make much of a difference anyways.

In your post when you said, "But, when I have serious doubts that I will succeed on the test and I feel ill prepared for it, it simply doesn't seem worth the hours of studying and my parents' $172," I couldn't agree more in that ultimately I can cram for the test today, which I will be doing, but it seems pointless in that I honestly feel I won't get much credit, and after knowing what college I will be going to, and knowing that they don't often give credit for these tests, it seems that I have just thrown 172 dollars of my parents money down the toilet.

Anyways I think we should stop our complaining because there is nothing we can do now, and just take the test going in with an open min that hey maybe we will know everything on this test. Highly unlikely but hey we can dream big right??

Great post Teresa!!!

Mikelle

 Teresa,

I concur with the main idea of your post, and share much of your pessimism about doing well. What is the most frustrating, however, is not only that we MUST take the AP test to be in an AP class, but that, according to a mustachioed historian, our class is one of only two in Utah to attempt to fit two courses into only 9 months. This borders on insanity, and is something I feel is unacceptable and unfair to push onto the students.

The unfortunate nature of traditional schooling and grading, indeed the real downfall of today's so-called "learning" is a culminating, cumulative evaluation requiring a person to recruit all previous knowledge on a subject through both objective and subjective means in the span of a few hours. In other words, testing. I cannot propose a better means of evaluation, (because I am not altruistic enough to trust the majority of teens with valuing learning for the sake of learning within the social context of highschool) but I do not feel that an AP exam is a real assessment of our ability to think at a college level. Working at a college level - maybe. But colleges are supposed to be institutions of learning, not labor camps. So what happened to encouraging learning and not test-taking skills?

Cramming for a test does not equal learning. Studying for a year and feeling well-versed in a subject and being able to hold discussions about it - learning has occurred. The Socratic method. Passing the AP test does NOT mean you truly learned the material (Those who learned will most likely pass, but not all those who passed, learned). The AP test should be a way to reward students who feel prepared enough and knowledgeable enough to skip taking the course in college. If a student doesn't think they can pass the test, that they are underprepared, and don't have confidence in their knowledge, the course should be retaken in college.

Teresa, after ranting, I digress but in complete agreement. The money spent towards an AP test should BENEFIT the student, not be similar to a fine and detract from family incomes. 

Students who are capable of higher learning and need a class taught at a higher level, to challenge themselves, should be able to seek such opportunities without being chained to a 4 hour, expensive AP exam. Some of us simply don't have the time - like me - I am involved with track and family and work and missing school for five, 4 hour exams, a few of which MIGHT grant me a free college credit, isn't worth it. Especially with respect to this Government exam, for which I feel extremely unprepared by a teacher who DIDN'T FINISH TEACHING THE MATERIAL - these tests are too expensive to be FORCED to take them when maybe all  student needs is a more challenging CLASS for college PREP, not a college credit.

Thank you for posting what was on most of our minds for the last month or so - I for one feel the need to object to these mandatory, inordinately expensive fees and tests.

Parker

 Dear Teresa

Your thoughts target my frustrations exactly.  Although i knew to expect an AP test at the end of the year I feel ill prepared and see it as a waste of my parent's money.  I like to take AP classes because I enjoy learning at a faster pace, and find the class more challenging than a regular class.  Although I understand getting college credit is a good thing, I would be fine not taking the test and not receiving the credit.  In college I hope they cover things I have already learned because everyone teaches differently and focuses on different things.  I like taking the class but it frustrates me that I am required to take the tests, especially when they are so expensive.

Thank you for your post!

Sincerely,

c. wood

Teresa,

I think your post described what a lot of us are feeling around the time of AP testing.  I know I'm not as prepared as I should be, but I can't do anything about that two days before the test.  I also think the idea of AP tests are a little ridiculous because in order to get into highly selective colleges you have to take the class, but even you get a 5 on the test some of them don't accept the credit.  So because my school doesn't accept the credit and will only help me place into a higher class, I don't even have the will to study for a test that doesn't even matter.  Also from your research it seems like there could be a way to  make the AP test less costly because they are so expensive and unclear how much revenue the AP exams earn.

Thanks for your work,

Kiersten

Teresa

   I agree that AP test fees are ridiculous. The College Board has a complete monopoly on the industry, and it seems like they're really taking advantage of it. The other problem, though, in my view, is that Judge requires students to take the test on the off chance that they'll do well. But honestly, I think a student knows if they're going to do badly on a test, and I don't think we should be forced to pay so much to take it if we know it's not going to pay off. It also discourages students from pushing themselves to take more challenging classes because it costs unnecessary money. I took AP Calculus because I wanted to push myself and be exposed to a kind of math I was completely unfamiliar with, but now I feel that I'm being forced to throw my parent's money away on a test I'm doomed to fail. I think more students might take harder classes if they didn't feel pressured into killing themselves to pass such an expensive test. Thanks for your post!

Dear Teresa,

I understand where you are coming from. I my slef am in an Ap class. AP english to be exact and while i do enjoy the class and the teacher i absolutly hate studying for the AP exam. to be honest the only reason i signed up for the AP class was because i wanted it to look good on my transcript when colleges would recieve it. I am dreading the fact that i have to take the test in about a week. I even asked Mr. Sloan if i could just not take the test but unfortunatly it is a requirement. thank you for your post im glad im not the only one who hates AP tests.

Dear Teresa:
Many schools ask for a lot of money to take a simple course even a test. That money cannot be refunded back because the college board are a bit parsimonious. They are very stingy to even consider refunding that money back. Its worse that we have to pay more than 20,00 dollars in order to attend a college, but then many have to pay to take an extra course or an exam. Money is usually wasted in the end, if the person passes or fails the exam or the exam. Too much money is involved in college, but it is a good opportunity for a person to become someone else in the future. The money is worth it, but can also be not worth it.

One sentence that interested me was: “However, when I am almost positive I will not pass the test and get a high enough score for college credit, asking my parents to pay the fee and spending the hours studying seems worthless.” When many people believe there is the possibility that they might not pass the test, they still take the risk in actually paying the money. As said in the quote, it was not worth paying that fee. I think the idea can go both ways because a person never seriously knows whether or not they can pass that exam. An exam is an exam, but when there is money involved, well that it an entire different story. It makes a person have a hard decision that they would need to take in order to succeed.

Another sentence that interested me was: “But, when I have serious doubts that I will succeed on the test and I feel ill prepared for it, it simply doesn't seem worth the hours of studying and my parents' $172. Sometimes the money can put a huge weight in the mind of the people. Once that money is in their hand, they begin to question whether or not they can actually pass that exam. There was always that list of pros and cons in their minds on whether spending that money will actually be worth it. Money is not something that can easily be thrown away nowadays because of the money crisis happening in the world today. I believe that it can be worth the risk, but there is still the possibility that the money can be wasted for nothing.

I agree with you on the aspect that sometimes money can be wasted, but I also believe that the risk is worth it. Risks are meant to be taken sometimes, but people should always consider the decision they make, before the move is taken. Exams in college are not meant to be taken too lightly because your grades actually matter in college. College is the beginning to our futures, and the people who we are meant to be.

Thanks for your writing. With your post I was able to get information on college, and the amount of money that can be spent to take an exam. I know that college life is never easy, and the money can be hard, but in the end I believe that it will be worth it.