[Edu-sig] College Board Cuts CS AP

[Vern Ceder]

Yes, what gets accepted and for what kind of credit is wildly variable 
from school to school...

Even though I've taught it for years, and it's not a *terrible* 
curriculum, I don't care for the AP much - the very fact that you're 
driven by an exam tends to deflect you from covering concepts in real 
depth (and also tends to make you write odd little programs that 
illustrate the test topics instead of larger projects that do 
something). My  administrators would not be happy to hear me say it, but 
I wouldn't mind opting out myself...

Vern

kirby urner wrote:
> What I've heard is in Oregon the state schools don't honor or accept any
> AP CS deal.  It's an opt out scheme after all.  However, nearby Utah does
> accept it, so you have a lot of wannabes avidly learning Java to get ahead
> in the Utah scene somehow.  Interesting ecology.
> 
> Kirby
> 
> 
> On Sat, Apr 5, 2008 at 5:18 PM, Vern Ceder <vceder at canterburyschool.org> wrote:
>> Actually only the AB CS exam is being cut - it's the more advanced of
>>  the two, trying to do some things with advanced data structures and
>>  algorithms. The A version of the CS exam remains and will be
>>  strengthened, according to the email sent to AP CS teachers.
>>
>>  The problem with the AB exam as I understand it was that it was too much
>>  for a year of HS in a lot of porograms, but not enough for credit for an
>>  extra semester of college credit.
>>
>>  Cheers,
>>  Vern
>>
>>
>>
>>  Jonah Bossewitch wrote:
>>  > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/03/
>>  > ST2008040303977.html
>>  >
>>  > Pretty disheartening considering the declining interest in CS
>>  > majors.... so much for switching to python on the AP exam. Even java
>>  > is better than no AP (mostly ;-) )
>>  >
>>  > /jsb
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>>  --
>>  This time for sure!
>>     -Bullwinkle J. Moose
>>  -----------------------------
>>  Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
>>  Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
>>  vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137
>>
>>
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-- 
This time for sure!
    -Bullwinkle J. Moose
-----------------------------
Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137