If you’re in high school, you’ve probably heard of something called AP classes. AP classes may be some classes that you take in high school most times after sophomore year. AP classes consist of a wide variety of subjects including math, science, English, Spanish and even art.
While these classes are typically taken by those students who want to challenge themselves and gain a GPA boost, the majority of the time they are striving to use it as a way to get college credit while still being in high school.
Instead of students getting college credits through the typical path of taking AP classes, students in John Dewey are now able to take college courses in European history and Psychology due to the connections with University of Albany.
According to AP psychology teacher Ms. Savino, who has 12-13 year experience of teaching psychology- taking an AP class also comes with its downsides.
“Each year students sit for the class all year and not everyone earns college credit because it’s based on the score that you obtain on the test,” Ms. Savino said. And I don’t feel like it’s fair to judge a student’s ability just on one test.”
However this year, in John Dewey, students have the opportunities to enroll in college courses while attending high school. As the AP class got approved by UAlbany to a college course in John Dewey, students are now able to earn college credits much more easily.
Furthermore, according to Ms. Savino, the process of getting approved lasted a while and involved many things.
“I have to submit a curriculum, syllabus, final exam, 3 projects that I would do throughout the school year, I had to submit my resume and had to show the book I want to use and then they come and observe the class and then I have to wait for the approval,” Ms. Savino said. “The process began on April 3 and lasted until October 23.”
Additionally, with this opportunity, it comes with many benefits for both the students and the teachers. For example, teachers will now feel more at ease when teaching and students have a longer time to study and learn for these classes.
“I’m excited to have opportunities for all students to get college credits and there will be less pressure,” Ms. Savino said. “I felt that I didn’t enjoy it as much as both her and the students felt pressured and rushed.”
Moreover, students can pass with an average of 90 or above in the course to obtain college credits and wouldn’t have to worry about taking the exam in May.
With this major change, it has also provided benefits for students that have already enrolled in this course and are one of the first to experience this according to two of the students in European history courses.
“I feel that AP European History becoming a college course may benefit me more now compared to when it was a normal AP course due to more challenging topics and complex readings,” said senior Zhao Ying Zhen.
“I think that European class becoming a college course is really great actually,” Eve Smith said. “The level of work is higher, so it gives a direct experience of what college will actually be like.”
In addition, students can now save money as taking courses in college will be more expensive compared to taking the course in high school. Students have the chance to participate in fundraising to pay for the course.
Lastly, if this major change is successful, there are hopes for more changes in other AP classes made just like this in the future school years of John Dewey High School.
