AP, Regular Classes a Poor Fit For Teens Shut Out of Honors

Angie Palma, a junior at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County, wrote an article for her student newspaper, the Wire, opposing the cancellation of honors courses, which forced students to choose between the more difficult Advanced Placement courses or the easier regular courses. Here is an excerpt:

What is the least appealing part about being back at school? Is it waking up early, not having classes with your friends, or the amount of work being piled on by your classes? Many students, on top of needing to complete all the work that is assigned daily by higher-level classes, also have to squeeze in time for after-school sports and jobs. That is more than enough for one person to try to handle without including the numerous other activities, like baby-sitting and clubs, that students are involved in.

Those students are the ones most affected by the decision of taking an AP course or a regular course. Those who choose the lower-level class are left sitting among classmates who do not work as fast and do not offer a challenging learning environment. For example, juniors at our school are either taking US/VA History or AP US/VA History. Many people in my US/VA History class are students who took honors history as sophomores and would have taken honors history this school year had it been provided. Those who gladly chose US/VA History may wonder why there are students complaining about having an easy class.

The problem is not having an easy class. The problem is that the only other choice was a class so advanced, it seems overwhelming. At the end of last year, when it came time to sign up for our junior classes, many of my classmates were dismayed when they were forced to chose between a class that was too far advanced and a class that was below their learning capabilities. Where is that middle ground needed for those of us not quite ready for a college level history class, but more advanced than a regular history class?

. . . Just as we are able to pick and choose our electives, we should be able to make a decision about how hard a core class we believe is fit for us. By being forced to choose between a regular class and an AP, many students have chosen the regular class. Some of us are not ready for college work. We need to have our extracurricular [activities] and after-school jobs. We need to feel a sense of accomplishment without feeling burnt out after completing our tasks.

. . . It should not matter that parents or teachers want their kids to take the hardest classes available. The ultimate decision should be left up to the person who is going to have to do the work. And that would be us.