Ms. Riding Hood
08-08-2008, 10:15 AM
Apologia sciences sometimes get a bad rap around here and while I certainly respect everyone's differences of opinion and the various preferences and needs of individual students, I also like to put in a positive word for Apologia when I can because it has been such a great science resource for our family.
I've written before about using Apologia chemistry with great success as preparation for the AP Chemistry exam, and now I wanted to add testimony for Apologia physics. Ds used both of the Apologia physics courses this year and then took the AP Physics B exam and the SAT II Physics exam, scoring a "5" on the AP and an 800 on the SATII (the highest scores you can get on both tests). I'll be the first to admit that ds is a uniquely gifted science student and a great test taker, but his only preparation in physics came from his Apologia books and a couple of study guides at the end. He did say that there was one area on the AP exam which Apologia didn't cover (or at least didn't cover in depth), and that there was a question about that very thing on the exam--but he had covered this enough with his study guide and was able to get through it.
I don't mean to suggest that Apologia is the best thing out there and that everyone should use it to obtain these stellar results. :) I just want to throw this out there for people who really want to use it, but have some hesitation or concern because they think it is somehow less rigorous than other texts. Maybe it is, but I guess it still gets the job done. HTH!
I've written before about using Apologia chemistry with great success as preparation for the AP Chemistry exam, and now I wanted to add testimony for Apologia physics. Ds used both of the Apologia physics courses this year and then took the AP Physics B exam and the SAT II Physics exam, scoring a "5" on the AP and an 800 on the SATII (the highest scores you can get on both tests). I'll be the first to admit that ds is a uniquely gifted science student and a great test taker, but his only preparation in physics came from his Apologia books and a couple of study guides at the end. He did say that there was one area on the AP exam which Apologia didn't cover (or at least didn't cover in depth), and that there was a question about that very thing on the exam--but he had covered this enough with his study guide and was able to get through it.
I don't mean to suggest that Apologia is the best thing out there and that everyone should use it to obtain these stellar results. :) I just want to throw this out there for people who really want to use it, but have some hesitation or concern because they think it is somehow less rigorous than other texts. Maybe it is, but I guess it still gets the job done. HTH!