All tests are online. For most courses, you must type your essay/composition and take the final test online.
For some of the elective/enrichment courses, you will have an option of typing your work on your computer and uploading a file to the site.
For some elective courses (like Foreign Languages/Arts / Music / Physical Education), you will need to scan or record your work and upload a PDF file, Audio file etc. to the site.
For most courses, students will type their answers in a dropbox provided for each assignment on the site.
Students will have 120 days (about 4 months) to complete the course.
Yes - if the student is not enrolled in the Tuition Free program.
No. A student needs to put in at least 75 hours of study and work time to complete a course. Please note that most students complete a Red Comet course in 3 to 4 month time.
Students will receive a transcript only when they have successfully completed all course requirements and have passed the course.
Yes - there will be time extensions ONLY if there is a valid reason (illness, accident, family issues, unforeseen circumstances, etc.)
We do not have courses that are categorized as credit retrieval. Once student completes all course requirements and successfully passes the course, the student will receive credit for the course.
A student has about 16 weeks to complete the course. It would be ideal if a student can devote 5 hours a week OR an hour each weekday on the course. This will ensure steady progress.
All our courses require about the same amount of work. It does not matter if the student registers for our courses during the school year or during the summer session.
The student can take as many courses as he can handle and as many as the school approves.
Not necessarily. The prices for our courses are published in our course catalog. Occasionally, we will run some special discounts which you can make use of.
We do not offer refunds. The student / parent must ensure that this is the right program for them before they enroll in a Red Comet course.
Red Comet AP courses, by design, have more academic rigor than a regular catalog subject area course. Expectations for student submission and responses to questions are significantly higher than an ordinary subject area course without the AP designation. Rubrics are embedded within the course to guide teachers and students toward the level of understanding expected to be successful on the College Board AP exam.
To answer the above questions, we have to look at the differences between online and in-person courses.
There are two significant differences between taking an online AP course versus the classroom version. First, most, if not all, classroom models involve teachers who are AP certified. Universities have special training programs to certify AP instructors, and many schools require anyone teaching an AP course to be AP certified. This certification is in addition to state teaching endorsements. Online teachers may or may not hold this advanced training. In a classroom environment, AP certified teachers teach the lessons, while in an online environment, the student engages in self-paced learning.
Next, students enrolled in classroom AP courses many times are selected based on a set of criteria that includes pre-testing and or teacher recommendations. This type of selection ensures that students have the necessary skillset and discipline required to succeed in an AP environment. In contrast, the enrollment process for online students depends on the honor system. In an online environment, the enrolled students may or may not be suited for working in an AP course. Because of this, we often see a higher than average dropout rate in AP courses (when compared to regular core courses) before course completion.
Completing an AP course through Red Comet does not of itself count towards advanced college credit. However, students can take it for high school credit or if they want to take the College Board AP test (that awards advanced college credit).
Ultimately, successfully passing a Red Comet AP course will improve students’ chances of successfully passing the College Board AP exam. However, enrolling in the Red Comet AP course cannot guarantee success in the College Board AP tests.
In conclusion, just like online courses in core areas are not for every student, we can say the same for online AP courses. Online AP courses are not for everyone, and students and parents must ultimately decide to enroll in one.