My daughter is in 9th grade, and it's time in the next few weeks for her to register for classes next year. As my wife (her mom) and I looked at course offerings, we noticed her school offers 2 AP courses she can take as a 10th grader. I couldn't help but think to myself, "10th grade is too early for AP. What's the point in getting a college credit 2-3 full years before you even start college?" Ever the scientist though, I felt it was important to check if there is any research to suggest when AP credits are most beneficial, and how many a student should strive for.
and I'm sure I'm not alone as a parent in wondering about this, so, I thought I'd write this blog so others could read what I found.
and here it is:
There is definite and clear (relatively large) benefit to college outcomes (time to graduate) for students taking 1-2 AP exams. The benefits level off, but do continue to increase up to 5 AP exams/classes, and then completely level off after 5. So, taking more than 5 AP classes/exams has absolutely zero extra benefit in ultimate college outcomes. These results come from studies conducted by the college board, the organization which creates and publishes the major college entrance and college placement exams, such as AP courses/exams, the SAT, and so on. In other words, even the company who makes and profits from AP courses/exams says that there is no benefit to taking more than 5.
Furthermore, they even assert that taking 1 or 2 AP exams is likely to have a sufficient benefit to predict your student will be more successful in college.
I don't know about you, but this comes as a big relief to me, as a parent. I can reassure my daughter that she does not need to bust herself crazy by taking a full AP schedule. Furthermore, I can tell her to wait until her junior or senior years to take these AP courses. Knowing that 1 or 2 is enough means that she can wait until her final year of high school to take these courses, which will be much better preparation for college because 1) it's actually close enough to starting college that the lessons she learned will transfer more readily, and 2) she'll have much more maturity to be able to translate the skills learned through AP study to college in a more meaningful way. Trust me, there is a huge difference in maturity between a 17-18 year old and a 15-16 year old, and those two extra years of maturity will help her better integrate what she learns in AP courses to (emerging) adulthood and the college space.
So, during this registration season, I encourage you all to do your best to convince your kids that they don't have to go crazy on the AP courses. I can't imagine what life must have felt like to those kids in the study (see below) who took 9+ AP courses/exams. Instead, talk to them about a healthy work-life balance, doing enough to optimallly prepare themselves for college, while also leaving room to be kids.
And if your child has no interest in college, that can be okay too. There are plenty of good career paths that don't require a 4-year-degree. If that's your child, then there is probably no academic benefit at all in registering for AP courses. Of course, if they want to take a few just because they're interested or because they want to push themselves to work hard, that is okay - but, again, in those cases, 1 or 2 (studies show) is enough to train students in the necessary work ethic to succeed in later endeavors.
Here is are links to the study I referenced, if interested in reading further. (1st link is to the full study; 2nd link is to a practical summary).
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