May 15, 2018

Some students in high school tend to learn at a faster pace than other students and need more challenging and rigorous coursework in school. One way that high schools have been helping students learn at a pace that works for them is through Advanced Placement (AP) Courses. AP courses are naturally more challenging and faster paced because they are, essentially, college classes being taught in a high school classroom. The AP program is perfect for students who want the extra work and preparation that come with a college class without having to graduate early or participate in dual enrollment or Running Start.

AP is a program offered in the United States and Canada through The College Board that allows high school students to take college-level courses and to earn college credit for those courses. Teachers follow a curriculum that is provided by The College Board, and students have the option of taking a test in May. The tests are scheduled in such a way that each subject test is taken on the same day and time across the US and Canada. The tests are then scored on a scale of one to five, with five being the best score possible. Colleges will then award credit based on the student’s exam score. The amount of credit offered for scores and the scores that are considered to be deserving of credit differ between colleges.  

Advocates for the AP program believe that AP classes help with general academic growth, and don’t just focus on the specific subject.

“AP really focuses on those fundamentals of writing, reading, problem solving,” says Katherine Devnich, AP Adviser and teacher here at CK, “And no matter what you choose to do with your life, whether you want to go into the military, or you want to go into work for the shipyard, or you want to become a doctor or a teacher, you need to be able to do those things.”

The College Board has statistics that would agree. On their website, the College Board claim that AP classes produce students that tend to be more dedicated and higher-achieving than the non-AP students. Their website states that “multiple research studies show that AP students who place into higher level courses based on their AP experiences are successful academically during their first year [of college] and beyond. AP students who earn credit for an introductory course perform well in subsequent courses within the same discipline tend to earn higher final GPAs than non-AP students and are more likely to graduate from college on time.”

People who are against the AP program favor the argument that AP is focused more on “teaching to the test” than it is to developing academic growth in students. Even AP US History teacher Michael Rosenzweig form Highland Park High School, Illinois, agrees, writing on a forum for history teachers a lovely, AP-inspired thesis statement, “AP no longer enhances the teaching of history at the high school level because the constraints of “teaching to the test” have overwhelmed my ability to provide a meaningful intellectual challenge to my students.”

“[Central Kitsap] High School has been offering AP classes for over 20 years, and currently we offer 25 different subject areas where kids can enroll in the class,” says Devnich.  A high percentage of the student body at CK are involved in at least one AP course, but many are involved in two or three. With such a large amount of students that are enrolled in AP courses, students and staff can see a divide within the student body between the AP students and the non-AP students. It seems as if the students who are not enrolled in any AP classes are thought of not being as smart as the ones in the AP program, but that is not always the case. It could be that they might not have the time or energy for AP classes or that they feel they would not do well in them. It does take a lot of time and effort to be in AP classes.

High school students take AP courses for many different reasons such as it looks good on college applications, it can help you save money, and they give students college experience. But, the bad aspect of AP classes is that they also cause students to have increased amounts of stress and less time to enjoy their high school experience because of a heavy workload.

With all of the practice and study books ($40-100), textbooks ($100-200), and the price of the AP Exams ($90), AP classes are pretty costly.  Many students who take an AP class will end up taking more which then doubles the price. These advanced classes come with a lot of work and sometimes it is difficult for students to adjust to the heavy load of coursework. This causes them to be extremely stressed out and to never have any free time to relax. AP classes may be beneficial for college but the question is: is the stress really worth it?

Many of the students who are taking just one AP class end up taking more, even if they don’t have to. A junior here at CK has stated that she takes these classes only because it looks good on her college resume, other students also agree with this statement. Only some colleges take AP classes into consideration when they are going through applications. Large colleges and universities are offering less credit for AP classes than small schools, who are just looking for more students. Colleges don’t seem to think that AP students are worth the loss of money that comes with giving them credit for classes they took before becoming college students.

“Last year [in 2017] we had a student who went to UW who started as a sophomore because of the AP classes that she took here at CK high school,” said Devnich. That may have saved the student a year’s worth of tuition, but it cost the college the same amount.

“Many professors’ views of AP have diminished now that the program is in more than 60 percent of U.S. high schools, including many where most of the students are low-income and low-achieving,” from the Washington Post’s article by Jay Mathews.

Though the AP program is sometimes overwhelming, it can still be beneficial to the students who will be attending a four year college or university after high school. They do look good on college applications, but only if you pass the AP exam with a high score. With any AP class there are pros and cons, it really depends on how well you do under pressure and how much time you have to devote to your AP class.