Anyone use PA Homeschoolers for AP Government

[schmittgirlz]

Would love some input on this course!

TIA!
Clare

[Gwen in VA]

Yes. Great course. Both dd1 and ds1 took it the year bofore this (12th grade and 11th grade respectively) and both got a 5 on the AP exam.

I was impressed by the course content and the teacher feedback on essays and on other assignments.

I wholeheartedly recommend the class. Ds2 will take it next year (10th grade).

[schmittgirlz]

About the work load....is it overload and cumbersome? It sounds intriguing but I am concerned about compromising other academic areas if this dominates her time and energy...this is all new so I don't know if these thoughts are warranted? Ugh, decisions, decisions...

Clare

[Sandra in NC]

My son took AP US Govt w/PA Homeschool this past year and scored a 4 on the AP exam.

Pro: The class prepares students well for the test by having many hand-written, timed essay exercises. He received detailed feedback from the instructor on his essays.

Con: My son was frustrated by the assigned quizzes not being current - having to be redone - or not available to do until Friday. He preferred to get his work done for that class early in the week because of his schedule. Often, it wasn't possible because the quiz wasn't ready.

Be aware: The grade given for this class weights participation heavily. I think it was 20%. That's the reason my son got a B in the class instead of an A. He didn't post a lot to the forum, but he did good work on everything else.

The work load is reasonable. It's much less work that the US History AP.

I'd recommend the class. Be sure to use AP prep books in conjunction with it to get more experience with the multiple choice questions. The quizzes given in the class relate to information in the textbook; your student will need experience with the AP exam-type questions, too.

[Gwen in VA]

One child took 5 AP's; one took 6. AP US Govt was the easiest AP of all of them. That's why we are planning on having my younger son do it in 10th -- it seems to us to be a good "intro to AP work" course.

I do second the importance of class participation. It didn't take that much time, but my kids did post on the forum fairly frequently. My kids didn't have a problem with the quizzes -- that must have been a problem that specific year.

My kids probably put in about 30-45 minutes per day on the course. I am expecting it will take my younger son more like 60-75 minutes per day since he will be younger when he takes it and he is less academic to begin with.