As Kelly Walsh students have settled into the 24/25 school year, there has been a frequent debate: Are advanced placement courses worth it during a high school career?
This topic has been discussed several times because students are more vulnerable to failure when taking AP-level courses.
Students are frightened by the title ‘AP’ when they consider their class schedule. Do teachers recommend enrolling in an AP class even if it is scary?
“I would! Students get intimidated by the ‘AP’ label, but they don’t need to be. We are excited to have kids try our classes and we help them to succeed,” said Jamie Tipps, AP Language teacher at Kelly Walsh.
It is made aware to students that they can earn college credit with their AP course but with limitations. Students will have to pass the entire class to earn a high school credit on their transcript; but to earn the college credit, they have to pass the AP exam.
The AP exam is a standardized exam that measures how well a student has mastered the content and skills of the AP subject. The exam is on a five-point scale and if a student gets a score of three or above, they are granted a college credit for a course equivalent to the AP course.
According to Natrona County Schools: High School Course Catalog, Kelly Walsh offers sixteen advanced placement courses ranging from calculus to music theory. Some classes even qualify for dual credit with BOCES (college credit earned at KW).
‘The Board of Cooperative Education Services,’ better known as ‘BOCES’ is a program that Natrona County School District has. This program offers free college courses to high school students through the local community college, Casper College.
According to the Community College Research Center, “nearly 2.5 million high school students took at least one dual enrollment course from a college or university in the 2022-23 academic year.”
Dual enrollment is commonly used at Kelly Walsh and encouraged to advance a student’s learning. Having both BOCES and AP classes offered within Kelly Walsh, students will decide what they think is the best course of action for them. Students always have an option at KW.
“Students should do what’s best for them– in terms of their goals, their schedule, and their life responsibilities. These classes prepare students well for college,” said Tipps.
Students can choose both BOCES and AP, but sometimes students choose one over the other. One example is seniors, they can choose what they believe would be better for their fourth English credit.
One common BOCES class that is favored amongst students (usually seniors) is English 1010. Do teachers believe that students are choosing this college class program over AP language or literature?
“Absolutely. This is unfortunate, as I constantly hear from former students that my class taught them the skills to succeed in their college classes, while many of their friends who didn’t take my class struggled. They miss out on really important preparation that helps them when they get to college,” Tipps said.
Even though students have recently opted out of taking certain AP classes, this isn’t always the case. In recent years, AP Literature and Composition teacher, Brandi Reed, has noticed that her enrollment number has decreased, but this year it was raised by 18 students, juniors, and seniors.
“My numbers actually increased this year, but it has been decreasing over the last few years. I truly think that the yearlong AP course with the test at the end gives students a better overall feel for the variety of challenging classes they will have in college. The BOCES course is great for those who plan to go to Casper College or attend UW,” said Reed.
Despite the intimidation within the year-long course and the exam at the end of the year, the advanced placement classes give students high school-level support and enhance their learning opportunities.
Students who choose to take advantage of one or both learning opportunities can succeed and further their education beyond high school while staying comfortable at the high school they attend.
