The
Advanced Placement Program (AP) has long been a significant feature of high
school curriculums around the United States. According to College Board, the
organization that designs the curriculum, the goal of AP courses is to “enable
willing and academically prepared students around the world to pursue university-level
studies while still in high school, with the opportunity to earn extra credit
(points toward an undergraduate degree) or advanced placement (the opportunity
to skip an introductory level university course).”
Many
high school students around the country are taking advantage of this opportunity
and its benefits. Although, like most opportunities in life; there comes a
price. Students enrolled in AP courses are given an extensive workload and
college level assignments that require a great deal of dedication and
persistence. Many crack under the pressure, while others are successful. If you
talk to different educators, students, parents, etc., it is guaranteed they
will all have differing opinions on AP courses. Like thousands of high schools
around the country, Metropolitan Business Academy has an AP curriculum. So what
does the “Metro’ community think about the AP curriculum at their school?
One AP
course that Metropolitan Business Academy currently offers is AP U.S. History.
The AP U.S. History and Government and Politics curriculums alternate every
other year. For example, in the 2012-2013 school year, Metro offered only AP
Government and Politics. This school year, Metro has offered only AP U.S.
History. Next year, AP Government and Politics will be offered again. To get some insight into the course, I
interviewed Malik Harris, a junior currently enrolled in AP U.S. History.
Malik
was recommended to enroll in AP U.S. History by a teacher who recognized his
impeccable work ethic. Ultimately, Malik decided to take this course because of
its appeal to colleges on applications and the possibility of earning college
credit on the AP exam. He also felt ready for the challenge. When asked to give
a brief summary of the class, concerning the day to day lessons, concepts, and
skills, he stated, “Before the AP Exam, we have to cover material from
Pre-Columbian America to Reagan’s presidency. As far as daily activities, we
have in-depth class discussions, role play, structured academic controversies,
group assignments, and primary source analysis.”
In Malik’s opinion, the main difference
between AP U.S. History and his general courses are the challenge level and
quantity of homework. “On average, I spend about 2-3 hours a night on homework
just for AP U.S History. My biggest challenges are time management and figuring
out how much effort to put into each assignment.” Despite these challenges, Malik
keeps up with his work by setting goals, making plans, and ultimately
prioritizing what needs to get done. On a positive note, he finds the course
interesting and appreciates the productivity of the students.
As a
whole, Malik would recommend AP U.S History to others, as long as they are up
for the challenge. He is already reaping the benefits of the course: “It has
helped me become more efficient at getting work done. The challenge is
definitely worth it because I feel prepared for college.” A word of advice that
Malik gave to students wanting to succeed in this course is: “Keep up with your
work! It is very important to keep up with your work, or you will fall behind.”
Malik
gave some great insight into the AP curriculum in regards to the student point
of view. So, it was just as important to get the perspective of an educator. I
interviewed Mr. Sacco, the sophomore English and AP Literature teacher. Mr.
Sacco has a great deal of experience with AP courses, having taught AP Language
and Composition for five years and AP Literature and Composition for four
years.
According
to Mr. Sacco, AP Literature covers a variety of concepts and skills, such as
literary analysis, classic and contemporary literature, epics, rhetorical
writing, literary devices, author’s craft, vocabulary, etc. “When I am
evaluating students for AP Lit, I first look at their grades. Generally,
students must have a B average or above. I also look at their writing portfolio
and samples of their work. I like to have a one-on-one conversation with
potential students to see if they can truly handle the work.”
Prospective
students of AP Literature should be cognizant of the high expectations Mr.
Sacco has set. Expect increased work and reading, as well as the responsibility
that comes with completing the work. Students must be on time to class and have
good attendance. “Most of all, I need students with self-direction and good
time-management. I also need students who don’t make excuses.” AP Literature
also requires students to take challenges and actively participate in class:
“You can’t sit in my class and look to others to answer all the questions. You
have to be able to speak and communicate your ideas.”
Mr.
Sacco is currently preparing his students for the AP Exam by exposing them to
many pieces of literature and actual released practice exams. His focal point
is teaching students how to effectively dissect questions and figure out what
they are asking them to do. In terms of the benefits of the AP exam, Mr. Sacco
asserts that this course prepares students for college. “In regards to life in
general, this course makes you a better thinker. In life, you have to argue and prove your
point. This course helps you become more articulate.” The most important advice
that Mr. Sacco gives to students thinking about taking AP courses is: “Take AP
courses because you want the challenge, not because of the title. Do it because
you want to challenge yourself.”
I
conducted my last interview with Ms. Angelica, the AP Calculus AB teacher and
her student, Peggy, together. Ms. Angelica is a first-year teacher of AP
Calculus AB. According to Ms. Angelica,
AP Calculus teaches the concepts and ideas from introductory level calculus in
an accelerated manner. “A student can get accepted into this course for one,
being good at algebra. They also need to be hard-working and focused,” said Ms.
Angelica. Peggy chimed in: “I chose to take this course because I am good at
math and I wanted the challenge.
In terms
of difficulty, Ms. Angelica and Peggy both agree that AP courses are definitely
complicated and require more dedication than general courses. “The class is
definitely more of a priority. I receive about 20 to 25 homework problems a
night,” stated Peggy. Ms. Angelica
jumped in the conversation: “I am not looking for homework to be perfect. I
just want to see students at least attempt to do the problems. Effort means a
lot.” Daily activities in the class include homework review, assessments,
vocabulary practice, and book work. “I would definitely recommend this course.
It prepares you for college and helps you build good time management skills,”
stated Peggy. Ms Angelica agrees: “AP Calc is a great course. It’s a good shock
into higher level math and prepares you for college.”
Students
and teachers were asked about the changes they wanted to see to the Metro AP
curriculum and the possibility of adopting more courses. Malik and Peggy fully
support adopting more courses to the AP curriculum. “I would really enjoy
getting more AP courses at Metro, especially AP computer science. But in order
to implement these changes, we need qualified teachers, more classrooms, and
students who are willing to take a challenge.”
Peggy stated, “I think we should offer AP biology, chemistry, psychology
and engineering.”
Ms.
Angelica and Mr. Sacco had very different opinions from the students. “Adding
more AP courses is not necessary because there are lots of opportunities for
students to take college courses, like the independent study the program.
Students can take classes at Yale, UNH, Southern, and Gateway.” Mr. Sacco
believes that Metro simply does not have the necessary resources to expand the
AP curriculum: “We would need to hire more teachers and I am not sure if that
will happen.”
Suffice
it to say, the Metro community has very strong opinions about AP courses. Some
students take the challenge and run with it, while others struggle.
Nevertheless, most students seem to benefit in some way from the extra work and
responsibilities. The idea of adding more courses to the AP curriculum still
remains a possibility, but it is up to the students to take the initiative. If
you really like a subject and want a challenge, you should go to a teacher or
administrator and share your feelings. If enough students show interest in
adopting an AP course, it could possibly happen. The power to make a change in
our school lies within us. Every member of the Metro community should play an
active role in making our school the best it can possibly be.
