Goal: Graduates College Bound to Take at Least One AP Course

Over the past several months we have talked of our goal to have every student who intends to enroll in college after graduating from Herricks take at least one college level (i.e. Advanced Placement) course before graduation. We have indicated that we know that this is very ambitious but we felt that (a) Herricks students are ready for this and (b) it is the kind of high quality preparation Herricks families should expect from us.

In the months since, I have received a number of good questions about this initiative which are worth discussing:

Is this a reasonable goal?

While ambitious it is certainly reasonable if done properly. History has shown that the capacity of students to do high level work has been underestimated over and over again. For example, not long ago, only top students were taught algebra because it was believed that many students were incapable of going higher than two years of general math.

Higher and higher percentages of students in the best public and private schools in the United States as well as in the best schools around the world have clearly demonstrated that they are fully capable of taking and succeeding at high level courses.

Won't this put students under undue stress?

If students take an AP course before they are academically ready to handle the material, it is likely to be enormously stressful and probably even counterproductive. What we are proposing, however, will be a challenge but should not be unreasonably stressful. Top students begin taking one or more AP level courses in the 10th grade. Most of these students end up taking three or more AP courses before graduation. For students who might not have taken an AP course, we would recommend that they (a) wait until senior year when many students often have a lighter workload, (b) work toward it slowly, making sure they have taken all of the appropriate preparation courses, and (c) select a course in an area of particular interest and strength. For some students it may be a course they had taken earlier at a lower level. For example, there is no reason why a student might not take AP European History as a senior after taking the full two years of the Regents courses in Global Studies in grades 9 and 10.

Why is this important?

Part of the role of a good school district is to prepare students to succeed in college. While AP courses have their limitations they are the closest approximation we have to the kind of academic work which will be expected of students when they enter college. We want them to know that college courses will be demanding but that they are fully capable of handling work at that level. It is not necessary for a student to take many courses in order to experience this.

Recent research has indicated that the most powerful impact of the kind of initiative we are embarking on is on students who are not in the top of the class. The top part of the class already has the confidence that they can succeed in college. Others may not have that. Taking and passing an AP course can show them that they, too, are fully prepared to move on to college and do well.

AP level courses are not the "be all and end all" of education. Taking one or even taking many will not, by themselves, ensure that a student is fully prepared. They can, however, be a significant step in the process and a valuable benchmark for students and their families.