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Private high schools eliminating AP courses

High school and college students were split this week on the news that seven private high schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area will remove Advanced Placement courses, according to interviews and a Sidwell Friends administrator.

This month, Bryan Garman, head of school at Sidwell Friends, emailed parents to say AP classes would be removed by the 2023-2024 year because teachers believe the material limits what they can explore in their classes.

Olivia Choi, 17, a Sidwell Friends student, will have taken two Advanced Placement courses by the time she graduates and sat for four AP exams.

“Some places, AP equates to ‘advanced’ in which case, they can be great options for students who want to be challenged academically,” Choi said. “At Sidwell, however, that is not the case.”

Min Kim, 48, assistant principle and academic dean at Sidwell, explained the schoool believes teachers should teach beyond the topics that appear on the tests. The school will continue to offer the AP exams which allows students to continue talking the tests of their choice and may help some get college credit.

Unlike some other high schools, AP courses are not the only accelerated courses offered at Sidwell Friends. In fact, the school has numerous classes that are considered advanced but do not follow Advanced Placement curriculum.

Choi agreed with Sidwell Friends’ decision to end the AP program.

When asked about her feelings toward the removal of the AP courses she said, “students enroll at Sidwell for equality of teaching and highly involved instruction, and I think it’s worth sacrificing the ability to put ‘AP’ on a transcript.”

Adam Friedman, 17, talks about AP classes. Photo by Iseabail Kelley.

According to Kim, Sidwell Friends already encourages its students to take exams for subjects that are not offered as APs, such as English, history, and language. Choi believes removing all APs will be beneficial and result in a healthier state of mind for all students.

“I believe removing the option altogether and shifting emphasis away from testing will help to minimize that disparity in course offerings,” concluded Choi.

Other students including Adam Friedman, 17, who attends Woodrow Wilson High School, a public high school in Northwest Washington, D.C. and Najsha Satterwhite, 18, from Luke C. Moore High School, another public school, agree with the schools’ decision to end the program.

They both believe that despite the benefit of taking advanced courses, it is not worth the stress the exams put on students.

Although removing AP courses may be popular among some high school students, Jessy Cashman,19, a rising sophomore at American University, and Wakefield High School alum, is against the idea of removing the courses. Wakefield is a public high school located in Arlington, Virginia.

Cashman took four Advanced Placement exams, and she believes the AP courses are both helpful and important to take before beginning university. The AP courses help students “get out of a high school mentality,” she said.

On the other hand, Cashman experienced that AP courses can become a “number game,” meaning students become competitive with one another over the amount of APs each student takes, or the scores they receive.

Overall Cashman believes APs are beneficial, and that everyone should have the option, but students should remember that “school is not just about tests,” she finished.

 

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More students opting for first two years at community college

Michaelyn Hoeres is unsure what she wants to study in college. 

The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18-year-old, who graduated from Freedom High School in June, worried about paying thousands of dollars per credit for general education requirements.

So, she’s spending her first two years of higher education not on a sprawling University campus, but instead at Northampton Community College.

“I knew I could knock out many of my gen ed requirements and save money while at a community college,” Hoeres said. “It puts less pressure on my parents.”

Michaelyn Hoeres posing for her senior pictures. By Kevin Volpe

Hoeres is among an estimated 9.8 million undergraduates enrolling in a community college for the 2017-2018 school year, according to Teachers College, Columbia University.

The total cost of a four-year degree can be drastically reduced by spending the first two years at a community college.

The average cost of one year of private, four-year University is $35,074, according to Best Value Schools. According to College Board assuming you complete two years of required classes at a community college, you will save $12,000 to $66,000 compared to the same education given at a state or private school.

No matter which college someone attends or what your ideal major is, the first two years generally are comprised general education classes. Many students won’t get into courses that fulfill their majors until junior year. 

Even with two years at community college, students who transfer their junior year to a more traditional campus earn a diploma with that school’s name on it.

Every first-year student is required to take core classes such as English 101, math, and science class in order to fulfill needed credits for graduation. There’s little difference in content between those classes from school to school, so some interviewed this week find it more economical to take them at community college.

The main reason behind attending a community college comes down to cost. Being able to earn a degree at the fraction of the price is a desirable want for many young individuals. 

Students are better financially prepared for the costs of a four year university should they plan on transferring.

Hoeres is looking forward to getting started. Even though she admits, she knows she’s missing out on some aspects of a four-year college.

“I am excited to be beginning a new part of my life but it does hurt watching most of my friends leave to go hours away to Universities,” Hoeres said.