Yucca Valley High School Research Paper

The learning world for sophomores at Yucca Valley High School is in shambles. A very small percentage of students from this high school are likely to go to college to pursue their career. Living in an impoverished area does not help the fact that very little people from this town attend universities and get college degrees. Students are also achieving poorly with only one third of the school having a grade point average of 3.0 or above. Students need to have a chance to compete with students from other places so they, too, can go to college and be educated. A typical sophomore schedule consists of an English class, a math class, a science, World History, and physical education. Why are the students achieving poorly? There is a large gap in

enriched education for those who need it! Advanced placement classes for sophomores can be a saving grace for Yucca Valley High School.
Students would like to go to college.

Most students that responded to the survey indicated that they plan on attending college. All students who had a grade point average of 3.0 or higher said they had high interest in going to college. Even some students who had lower grade point averages said that they would like to go to college (See appendix). Students who would like to go to college also want to get scholarships. Especially in this low-income area, it is paramount that students have a financial way of going to college, otherwise they will not go (New). Most people in the economic area of Yucca Valley can not afford to pay for a full college tuition. Students also do not want to go into debt to go to college. However, the easiest way to go to college with a scholarship is to have a very high grade point average, which some students are unable to achieve. Most colleges use students with high grade point averages as their top candidates for scholarships. For some students, it can be hard to maintain a grade point average to seal their chances of getting a scholarship. The students need to achieve more in order to go to

college.
Sophomores who show academic excellence with a 3.0 grade point average are not learning well in their current classes.

These sophomores find that the other students are not on the same level academically as them. These sophomores are finding that the other students are immature, especially in the case of some students in World History who said that there were students laughing when people were jumping from the upper levels of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, in a video shown on the fourteenth anniversary of the attacks. These students want to know more about history than having to learn surface-level lessons that have much more depth than what is taught in the class for those who do not understand. These sophomores find that the assignments given in classes are too easy. The tests require little learning in order to pass. The students were also able to work on the test using notes and assignments that they did in class. The students have to do little work to achieve a good grade in the class, yet they do not work hard enough to get good grades. Sophomores want their assignments to be more challenging. Students in their English class wished for more challenging assignments (See appendix). They also found that the work was too easy and required little work from them. The school is not providing enough enrichment for sophomores who need more challenge so they are not bored in their classes. The classes that they are in are hard in which to

concentrate, and the other students prefer a smaller understanding that does not satisfy an advanced student’s needs, and this is an issuer that must be resolved.
There is an extremely simple solution: the school needs to begin offering advanced placement courses for sophomores, which are beneficial in many ways. They grade on a five-point scale. This allows students who struggled in past classes a chance to bring their grades up to par or even push their grade point average up over 4.0. It is worthy of the grade point average raise it brings. Advanced placement courses provide a higher-level learning. Assignments given in these classes are meant to challenge the advanced students that take the course. The teachers also teach deeper aspects in their subjects. Advanced placement classes prepare students for college. Students are encouraged to think deeper and more critically, and the level of work is similar to that of a college class. Students in these classes think alike to each other and are able to work better together (“Advanced”). An advanced placement program will increase student learning for sophomores.
The Yucca Valley High School college-entry rate is ready for change. It will increase as students at higher levels are given a higher education, which will leave the higher-level students and the other students a more individualized amount of attention to allow them to learn more. This is a time for change. What can one do? Contact a district official and tell them to bring a better education to the sophomores!