UP FRONT OPINIONS: Why Do Some Students Get a Bonus for Earning D's?

[Gary Anderson]

I know that students keep getting the message that taking accelerated/Advanced Placement classes is a great idea. Is this really true? What are the advantages of taking accelerated classes?

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First of all, if a student has a high level of ability and interest in a particular subject, the accelerated class can offer challenges not present in “regular” classes. In addition, if a student masters all of the material in the accelerated track, including Advanced Placement classes, he or she will probably earn college credit through the AP testing program. College credit is expensive, so if you can get it for the price of a test, that’s a great deal. There is also a perception that accelerated/AP classes add some prestigious luster to a student’s high school transcript. While that may be true for some colleges, plenty of non-accelerated students matriculate at excellent colleges, so I have my doubts that “it will look good on my transcript” is a great reason for taking accelerated/AP classes. Still, because students enroll in high school classes long before they have selected a college, enrolling in accelerated classes can be a useful self-promotion strategy.

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These are all valid reasons for taking accelerated/Advanced Placement classes, in my opinion. Acclerated/Advanced Placement classes offer intellectual, academic, and even financial incentives for those enrolled in them.

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But then there is the grade boost. The Big Bonus. Students who take accelerated/AP classes in our district and many other districts are granted weighted grades plus a bonus for taking those classes. Even students who earn D’s in accelerated classes get the grade boost. That grade boost affects grade point average and class rank, moving accelerated students ahead of classmates who do not take accelerated classes.

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I am firmly against weighted grades for accelerated/Advanced Placement classes. The other incentives for enrolling in these classes should be sufficient. In fact, a new study from the University of Texas-Dallas Texas Schools Project shows that students will still take Advanced Placement classes even if they do not receive the grade boost.

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The grade boost obviously benefits the students in the accelerated classes, but my objection is due to the way it hurts other students. If Student A is moving up in class rank because of grade boosts from accelerated classes, that means Students B, C, D, and everyone below Student A are moving down in class rank. That’s not fair. Students who earn excellent grades in all regular-level classes have virtually no chance of being in the top 10% of any graduating class at our school. The other incentives mentioned above have no effect on other students. No one else is affected if a student earns college credit or has an AP class on his or her transcript. But weighted grades affect class rank, and class rank involves comparisons with other students.

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So why do schools insist on luring students into accelerated/Advanced Placement classes? Good question. Does it have anything to do with the fact that U.S. News and World Report each year ranks American high schools based almost solely on the number of Advanced Placement tests given? The rankings are based not on how well students perform on those tests but on how many students take the tests. For these rankings, quantity apparently equals quality.

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I believe it’s dangerous to think that accelerated or Advanced Placement classes are automatically a good idea for all students. I have seen any number of students become emotionally overwhelmed by being misplaced in accelerated classes. Two excellent books dealing with this phenomenon are Alexandra Robbins’ The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids and Denise Clark Pope’s “Doing School.”

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I’m interested in your opinions on this topic. Do you think the grade bonus for accelerated and Advanced Placement classes is fair or unfair? I challenge students to respond based on what is best for all students, not just for themselves.

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[Liz Dickerson]

I have found in researching colleges that most colleges prefer that you get a C or a B in an advanced class over and A in a normal class. I don't think it is really fair because people in a not AP class are working just as hard and they don't get the same praise as someone who is taking and AP class.

[melissa dipasquale]

I think that students in AP classes that are recieving a D in the course deserve the "big bonus" because the classes are harder than others and really push the students and challenge them in a different way. and if they arent doing so hot in the class and they need that little extra help, im all for it.

[Rachel Pierini]

I think the grade boost is completely unfair, because we do almost the exact same thing and don't get a lower grade then the accelerated kids do. I can say for a fact at Fremd, kids in the same class type, like physics are doing the exact same thing. I know that accelerated classes really only go a little faster then the normal classes. However, we might get a B while the accelerated classes give them a A just for being in accelerated classes. We need to have either a complete difference between the two or no accelerated classes at all.

[Tom Meyer]

Mr. Anderson, you just read my mind. Not fair at all. The class rank stats that you showed blew my mind away. It's good to know that I'm just a stepping stone for greatness for those students who take AP classes.

[Allison Dunnington]

This is a frightening phenomenon to me because it means that perfect is becoming the new average. Students are being forced to excel, sometimes pushing them to unhealthy limits. I know a lot of AP students who don't sleep very much, if at all, and sleep is detrimental to your immune system and helps your body grow and function properly. Not to mention the stress that can cause mental breakdowns. I was in the gifted class in elementary school and got bumped to average level classes in high school because I tested poorly on the entrance exams. I'm happier in regular classes, because people are more social and far less concerned about that extra 1% on a test.

[Rachel Baum]

I don't think it's fair that people in advanced classes get that much of a boost. Yea, ok, their work is harder, but they're in that class because they want a challenge right? Challenges don't always come with a boost. What you mentioned about class rank really hit home with me. It's the end of junior year, so I've been looking at colleges for a little while now. All colleges mention something about what class rank the majority of their students came from/what they want. I'm thinking, Ok, I meet the GPA and ACT scores, but theres NO way I'm going to get that class rank. Why? Beccause I don't take any AP classes. And to me, that's not fair.

[ivan horajsky]

Grade bonuses for studenrts who receive a D in AP classes get those bonuses for passing the class just barely; the bonus gives the student an incentive to keep working hard at the advanced level. The student is at the Andvanced level because they want to challenge themselves and feel like they have all the knoledge that they are given in regular classes. They want to take a step forward. I think it is fair that AP courses give bonuses for passing grades because the classes are challenging and to pass is outstanding. I want to take an AP class next year because i will get college credit and if i pass i will feel like i acheived something great!