In my AP classes, I give extremely difficult exams, so difficult that a kid told me last week that the 40 years the Jews spent crossing the desert were easier than a POd teacher's exams. I have to agree with him. But, I do mark on a big curve so the only thing that is really being hurt by these exams is their self esteem. These AP kids are used to getting grades in the high 90's but, they are not used to thinking. In the past, they were always given review sheets before the exams. Like good little boys and girls, they ran home and redid the sheets a few times until all the problems were memorized. These kids could just reiterate everything that was on the sheets without any real understanding of what was taught. My tests make them think. They always know the topics, but the wording gets them every time. Nothing is straight forward. The AP exam is not straight forward and they invest so much time and money in this exam, I do my best to help them get passing grades. Amazingly, they always walk out of the exam "cursing" me, telling me that the AP exam was much easier than any of the tests I had given them during the year. They then thank me for the torture I put them through all year.
I equate studying and taking an exam to an athlete's preparation for a major competition. I tell them the expression "NO PAIN, NO GAIN" was actually thought up by a math teacher.
3 comments:
I try to have my kids take harder tests than the CRTs (thankfully no AP in junior high). I give them reveiw tests, and formulas, and notecards to write the formulas down. Then I give them 2-3 days to study and come get help if needed. They still all fail. It hurts my self-esteem more than theirs.
I have the same problem with my lower level classes. The AP kids are a whole different game. They are the kind of kids we were when we went to school.
Well, doesn't scoring in the low 90's hurt their chances of getting into their dream schools? (Not that I oppose your philosophy, but you know...)
That 90 AP Calc gave me my GPA down by a lot ... given that it was also an AP-weighted course, the effect it had was rather disproportionate. I suppose I won't go so far to say that it'll make a difference when I apply to MIT (I will probably get rejected regardless, because I'm not taking 16 different AP courses at once; my school doesn't even offer more than 10), but anyway.
Post a Comment