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Originally posted by pixell
I didn't take many AP courses so my perception is only based on the few my school offered. For my classes, the teachers made a point to emphasize tricks you could use in essays to get higher scores, etc. I don't remember much, but I know there were certain sentence structures my AP English Language teacher would want us to use in pretty much every essay. I was horrible about paying attention in class so I can't remember what they were any more.
In my experience, the English (both language and literature) tests were much more "taught to the test" than history, math or computer science were.
I think many schools over emphasize the AP program. Yes, it's a good experience for students to prepare them for college but it's not the end of the world if students don't take them. My high school basically told students that they were out of luck regarding college admissions if they didn't take AP. I don't think the program did much more than keep me from being really bored in high school. The credits didn't really apply well for my program and all it did was get me out of the freshmen writing courses.
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If I remember correctly, teaching to the AP test would have to cover every area of the subject, as the tests didn't center on any one topic or section. If you're covering every area, are you really short-changing the students?
I also don't think anyone on here is saying that AP classes/scores are the be-all, end-all. They do help out, though, when you get to school.
I have to concur with Rob and adpiucf on their points. The AP program can give you a real leg up going forward. It allowed me to add a major and a bunch of other classes, while still being done with requirements and the such in under 4 years. Even if your school won't accept the credits, that base knowledge will help out. Plus, if you do well enough, getting an award from the AP Scholar program looks great on a transcript.