[Foobarz]

I took AP Chemistry this year, and I felt it was a challenging and rigorous course for the most part. I recently heard that the College Board was revising the curriculum of AP Chemistry for the 2013-2014 year, and I decided to take a look at it (the revisions can be seen here: http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/11_3461_AP_CF_Chemistry_WEB_110930.pdf )

After looking at all those X's of information that is supposedly "beyond the scope" of the new course, I feel that AP Chemistry is taking a turn for the worse. It seems to me that a lot of critical information in which I learned this year was being taken out. From my perspective, the College Board's revising the course to "reduce the breadth of content to promote conceptual understanding" is merely a euphemism for dumbing down the course.

What does everyone here think about this?

[Sophia7X]

Thank goodness I took AP chemistry this year instead of next year. I'm taking AP bio next year and I heard it's getting dumbed down as well. Which is okay, I don't even like bio anyway .

Assignment of quantum numbers to electrons is beyond the scope of this course and
the AP Exam

...Really, CollegeBoard??

Colligative properties are beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam

Lewis acid-base concepts are beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam

The Nernst equation is beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam

Computing the change in pH resulting from the addition of an acid or a base to a
buffer is beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam.

And a lot more.

 So basically, CollegeBoard just obliterated half of what chemistry anyone should learn in high school.
What's left is essentially just organic, gas laws, and stoich

[Dan]

If AP is university level it seems pretty ridiculous (not intimately familiar with North american education systems).

Would it be too cynical to say "explanation is beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam"?

[Arkcon]

I took a peak at the similar page for the AP Bio exam, and they've decided that the enzymes and reactions of glycolysis and the Krebs cycle are likewise, "out of scope."  Well, I wouldn't say that AP Chem (and AP Bio) have been "dumbed down" but if they're truly meant to be college level, then yeah, these are concepts that shouldn't be excluded.  Maybe the issue is more time constraints for teaching all these concepts, in favor of, I dunno, something.  But anyone who relies on AP Bio to function as a prerequisite for more advanced Biology is in for a shock if they've neglected the more basic pathways.

[Foobarz]

@Sophia I'm really sad too since I'm going to take AP Bio next year, and even as a freshman I learned that the first reactant/product in the Krebs cycle is oxaloacetate. . . And next year there's going to be NO enzymes!!!

Speaking of which, I might decide to take AP Spanish Language next year since its getting "revised" for the 2013-2014 school year (in which I had planned to take it).

[ramboacid]

A lot of colleges accept only 5's on AP Chem Exams even though they accept 4's on other exams, and some don't accept AP Chem credits at all even if they accept Bio and Physics credits. This just gives colleges more reason to believe that AP Chem is not a good substitute for a university level Gen. Chem course.

I don't have a problem with the idea that many AP Chem courses are taught in a calculation rather than concept-focused manner, but developing conceptual understanding has more to do with teachers and students than with content in a lot of cases.

Also, what the heck does this mean?

Language of reducing agent and oxidizing agent is beyond the scope of this course
and the AP Exam.

Thank goodness I learned my AP Chemistry this year.

[Foobarz]

It means that they think it's too hard for people to differentiate between oxidizing and reducing agent.

[Jorriss]

Lewis acid-base theory won't be taught.

'Learning how to defend Lewis models based on assumptions about the limitations of the models is beyond the scope of this course and the AP Exam.' That's unfortunate. Learning how to assess the validity of a model is very important.

Phase Diagrams are also not being taught.

Apparently deriving the Henderson-hasselbalch equation is too advanced too?


I was of the opinion that AP chemistry already wasn't college level, and these changes won't make it so AP chem is not a good prep for college but this is terrible.