Are we getting the best learning opportunity?
College readiness is the main focus point for high school students. Becoming that person that is able to achieve the highest potential in a certain area and obtain a degree is what each student aims for. However, for all that to occur one should be able to have the opportunities to help him or her reach the goals that have been set. The lack of AP classes that our school does not offer interferes with that. Our school offers eleven out of the forty AP classes that are available. In addition, some of the AP classes do not end up running because of the school policy of having a certain amount of students placed in it. The importance of AP classes is increasing when one fills out an application for his or her desired university. Having AP classes listed down on an application for a university enhances a student 's application. Colleges want to see that you have challenged yourself to the best of your ability, and that you were able to handle the college level coursework (hubpages).
Although our schools had eleven out of the forty existing AP classes, most of the classes that are offered are higher math, science, history and language classes. Students need a variety
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“Students also increasingly see AP credits as a ticket into college” stated Viadero, Debra (Viadero,Debra). The College Board craves to see applications with loads of AP classes listed on the application. The classes show that one would be able to survive in a college level class at their university. At nearly every college in the country, your academic record is the most important part of your college application. The people in the admissions office want to see that you have taken the most challenging courses available to you (Grove, Allen). According to the chart above, it shows how many people put an importance on these AP classes
The college application process is one of the hardest parts of a high school career.
Recently the guidance department of Boston Latin School has instituted a new policy that limits the number of Advanced Placement classes students can enroll in during junior year. Previously students after being granted a waiver could take a maximum of four AP classes. However under the new guidelines all juniors are restricted to three. This is unfair to students who seek to reach their full academic potential.
When I was first accepted into the AP Language & Composition course, I felt overwhelmed. I had always received above average grades in all subject areas, but because this was an AP course I was unsure if my English skills were up to par. During the summer, my anxiety about the course increased. I began to feel that my writing skills were inferior to the skills of my peers’. Before this course, I did not have a developed writing voice or style. I had little knowledge of what phrases or words to avoid using in writing. I started to wonder if I truly belonged in an AP course. After having completed this course, I have a better grasp of the English language and have acquired skills that have improved my writing.
High school students everywhere in the United States make very selective class choices based on careers they may want to pursue in the future. One decision that the students may make is to take an AP class. Among students, when they hear the name AP they automatically think stress, and homework, and tests; however it also means college credit, and advanced placement and promises a future. What if the College Board changed the benefits and decided that if the school board had a problem with the crew framework and felt the need to change it, then this AP class wouldn't be worth anything in college? The promises of college credit and advanced classes would be ripped from the students' hands, and the choices they made in order to take this
This monetary reward is quite the motivation for students to study and work hard on their AP exams. Expert Rebecca Ruiz said, “Today Mr. Nystrom teaches AP statistics to eight times as many students as he used to, and this year 70 percent of them scored high enough to qualify for college credit, compared with 50 percent before” (Ruiz 1). This increase in AP test scores shows that the rewards offered are in fact motivating these students to work harder preparing for these exams. Any programs that offer rewards to students for excelling on their AP exams will see an increase in the scores on the
Flexibility is important to some students because it gives the student the opportunity to work while obtaining their degree. Accreditation is important to highlight the excellence of the university and reassurance of the university commitment to the students. The graduation rate of a college is important because it shows the school dedication to helping their student entering and completing their degree. Faculty-student ratio is important because it allows the staff to get to know the student on a more personal
Current public high school curriculum are simply too easy. Students are able to take too many easy classes that do not challenge them. This is the first point that needs to be focused on when trying to fix this problem. Within this one cause, there are many different solutions. However, I do not have the time here to name them all. I am going to focus on one particular recommendation that I believe would help the most.
In Barnett and Hughes’ (2010) article that focuses on the “three important milestones” that lead to college completion, the authors dissect the best practices used across the country by colleges and high schools to get their students on the track to success in college. They found that dual enrollment of classes, which occurs when high school students are allowed to take college courses at the same time, and earn college credit upon completion, addresses the three main milestones identified. Dual enrollment also adds value for students and assists in helping students become acclimated to college. Although some states have restrictions on who can take dual enrollment, (ex. Must have a 3.0 GPA) the focus seems to be shifting away from those restrictions to target the populations that may not have been interested in post-secondary education (Barnett and Hughes, 2010).
In DE/AP level classes, everything is basically harder and more fast paced than regular high school level classes because they are college courses. College courses are, for the most part, more in-depth and go through the material at a faster pace than high school classes. DE/AP level classes will probably spend one or two days on a topic or a chapter, do a couple of practice problems in class and at home, and expect the student to fully understand the topic or chapter the next day. The expectations of DE/AP level classes are considerably more strict than regular high school level classes. These classes expect much more time and effort inside and outside the classroom. They expect all time spent in the classroom to be engaged in the lecture
Determining college readiness is an essential part in determining who will qualify as a good candidate for admission into a college or a university. The last thing that colleges want is for students to qualify for admission and drop out, this affects drop out rate and graduation rate. According Robin Chait and Andrea Venezia (2009),
I believe that the AP program will benefit me as a student because it expands my horizons. When it comes to finding my path and my place in this world, I believe this program will play a big part in it. By being in the Advanced Placement program, I can learn and have a deep knowledge of different fields and subjects. The AP English course would equip me with the skills I need for the future. Given that my passion lies with literature, it is something I can see myself working towards in college/university. It is something I would like to see myself do years from now. I thrive to read between the lines, to divulge myself in stories, and to truly understand people and this world. The regular curriculum would not allow me to express my full potential.
Going to a small school, such as Gonzales High School with 750 students, has limited the opportunities of having clubs, sports, and academic course accessible to schools with a much larger population. GEAR UP, a program designed to help students academically, they offered field trips to colleges yearly and after school tutorials, if we ever need extra help. GEAR UP has provided me with answers to questions I have about college, I have also taken advantage of their tutoring and went for help on homework. AP classes introduced me to feeling how the college work would be like. My APUSH class was a challenge, consequently a completely different experience from any other class I have taken. I worked long hard hours on the assignments and studying
Why is that some people slide through school taking shop, home economics, and gym classes? Probably because those classes boost their grade point average, GPA, and make them look more attractive to colleges. But, why should people taking harder classes like AP classes, physics, Spanish, calculus have to suffer from a lower GPA and class rank? Shouldn’t they be rewarded for their hard work? The question is “how would you change it”, and the answer is with weighted classes/GPA’s. Not many people know what weighted classes are. Luckily Lindsay (2015) spelled it out for those who don’t know what it is, “A weighted GPA is a GPA that takes the difficulty of your classes into account along with your grades” (para. 2). When schools use un-weighted classes it doesn’t always tell the whole story of how hard a student worked to receive their grades in high school. Those taking those harder classes, and still getting good grades, they should benefit from getting good grades in harder classes. High schools need to have weighted classes in order to demonstrate
My school does not offer that many AP classes for many reasons. I took advantage of what was offered to me and took as many classes that my schedule allowed. My schedule was already limited, so to add AP classes to it I had to budget my time wisely. I would cut out anything from my schedule that I didn’t find to be useful. I spent hours studying and doing my homework before doing anything else. All the time and effort that I put into AP classes was worth the while in the sense that it better prepared me for college classes and challenged me academically. It helped prepare me for college classes by exposing me to much more difficult coursework than that of which I was used to. I also had to adopt better study habits that would be useful for
Within a typical high school, there will be many different kinds of students. Likewise, there will be many types of different classes. There will be students (similar to me when I was in high school) whose main focus is getting into a quality university program. For these students, there will be a rigorous set of honors courses. Any student may enroll in these courses; the advertised amount of extra work they require will keep out the students who don't belong in them.