Should OHS Continue to Offer AP Courses?

A survey of 40 students at OHS was conducted to support this article. Respondents consisted of 27 full-time students, 7 part-time students, and 6 single-course students. Some responses have been posted and edited for clarity.

21 of the 40 respondents reported that they thought OHS should add more AP courses. Some stated that they would like a wider range of AP options, particularly in history, art, and languages.

AP courses in the context of college applications

Students discussed the value of taking AP-designated courses for college applications: “AP courses are important, as they look impressive on a transcript and may affect a student's chance to get into college. Part of many students' motives for coming to OHS is to take classes that may or may not be offered at their brick-and-mortar or other school. The reduction of AP courses would force many OHSers who want college credit or unique courses to go elsewhere, which wouldn't be beneficial to OHS or arguably even to the student.”

Respondents who said OHS should keep its current AP courses without adding more commented on the necessity of taking AP exams given the current system. Several discussed the importance of offering both AP classes and their OHS alternatives.

“At my brick-and-mortar school, AP courses aren't offered. Having them available at OHS is nice because I know I'm genuinely receiving a good preparation for the exams and will have the AP designation included on my transcript,” one student stated. Another student reported, “I personally appreciate the AP courses because I know I’m getting the material I need to take the AP exam. But I totally understand people who aren't taking the courses, and the alternatives that they had for AP ELC and APUSH were really great and interesting. So maybe adding more of those but still keeping the option to take a regular AP course would be good. Having to juggle an AP-level course and self-study on the side for the actual AP exam since the class doesn't cover all the material was very stressful for me, and I did that for two classes in junior year. So having that basic AP course is really helpful, at least for me personally.”

One student commented that OHS should keep the AP courses that were important for college credit, specifically the classes for foreign languages, calculus, and the sciences.

But what’s the cost of the ‘AP’ designation?

Students who reported that they thought OHS should replace some of its current AP courses commented on the importance of AP credit given the current system but also the value of approaching classes in a way that facilitated learning.

“I think replacing the majority of the AP courses at OHS will give students a better format and structure for learning,” a student shared. “Although it is important for students to score well on a test, we shouldn't cater their education to them simply in the form of ‘doing well on a test.’ We should prepare them well for the test but also format the courses so that they are engaging and interesting to the students taking those courses. I find that creating newer courses that prepare students for the AP exams but also nurture their passion for learning in a new and abstract way will be more beneficial in the long run, simply because it makes them want to learn. Although, offering these courses is still acceptable for students who want to take the traditional path.”

A respondent stated that AP courses at OHS should be entirely removed for the reason that they taught too much to the exam, instead recommending that OHS design classes that prepare students for AP exams yet do not focus strictly on AP material. “When you call a class ‘AP,’ you inevitably end up producing a course that teaches directly to the College Board’s standards, which are very low,” the student commented. “The entire purpose of OHS is to go beyond the textbook and to have courses that promote critical thinking; by offering AP courses that teach to College Board’s curriculum, OHS does just the opposite. As someone who is taking AP Calculus at OHS, I’ve observed that the course is meant for the student solely to pass the exam, not to pass the exam and build a good mathematical foundation. I feel as if the problems are chosen based on the likelihood they will appear on the exam and nothing more. For example, we skipped the proof that the limit as theta tends to 0 of the sine of theta over theta equals 1 in class. Why? Because the problem would not appear on the exam. The proof is beautiful, and it’s a tragedy that it was skipped in class and on homework. I don’t mean to call out OHS—their AP classes are so much more in depth than anything else I have seen. Nevertheless, I would like to change the structure of AP courses at OHS—make it so that the courses teach AP material, but in more depth.

“Hence, I believe that OHS should stop offering AP courses and offer alternatives. For example, instead of AP Calculus BC, offer Calculus BC, a course that teaches more than just the skills needed to get a 5 on the AP Calculus exam. Just to clarify: I am not saying that students shouldn't take the AP exam; I am simply saying that the students can take alternatives at OHS and take the exam as well.”

Let’s talk alternatives

One student shared, “I think it's good to have the option for students to take AP courses, but it is equally, if not more important to have alternative courses for people who think AP courses wouldn't be a great fit for them. This is already fantastic in terms of humanities, with OHS courses like ACS and Russian Lit being excellent alternatives to their AP counterparts, and I've heard really great things about those classes. Speaking from one year of full-time and two years of single course experience, I think offering a similar number of alternatives for STEM fields would make scheduling your workload a lot more comfortable as an OHS student.”

To gain further insight into the AP alternatives offered at OHS, the Pixel Journal also interviewed Dr. Hruska, who teaches Critical Theory and Russian Literature, and Dr. Smith, who teaches American Culture and Society (ACS). These courses serve as alternatives to AP English Language and Composition (AP ELC) and AP United States History (APUSH), respectively.

“Overall I think the AP ELC test is a superficial approach to thinking about literature and analysis,” Dr. Hruska said of Russian Literature’s AP counterpart. “Focusing on the AP curriculum on its own would be very limiting. It also would mean that I wouldn’t get to offer the Russian literature course since Russian literature and cultural history are not a subject of the AP exam.”

Dr. Smith commented similarly on the College Board’s APUSH curriculum. “The APUSH curriculum provides an effective framework for a survey course.  While that framework also requires students to develop skills as interpreters of historical documents, it necessarily emphasizes breadth over depth; students do not have the opportunity to think as deeply as they might like about the texts and topics that interest them most. The AP curriculum is also geared towards preparing students for the AP exam itself, of course, which can limit the ability of teachers and students to engage closely with the questions and problems that capture their attention in class.”

Not having to follow the APUSH curriculum, ACS “aims to foster lots of thinking and discussion, and it also evolves over the course of the year to reflect the questions that students find most compelling or urgent.” For Dr. Hruska’s Russian Literature class, not having to follow the AP ELC curriculum allows for an entire selection of texts that would not otherwise be possible, as well as a greater focus on literary history.

Both instructors stated that their AP alternatives do not prepare students for the AP exams, so students taking them will need to use outside resources for exam preparation. The courses are also structured differently from their AP counterparts at OHS, but it may be worthy to note that OHS’s AP curricula do not strictly follow the College Board’s.

What’s the verdict?

Overall, while the initial poll shows that many OHSers would like to see more AP courses being offered, it is clear that adding more APs would not be the most effective way of fostering the critical thought and engagement that OHS seeks to promote.

While OHS still works to incorporate critical inquiry into its AP courses, a higher level of this is possible with courses that do not operate by the College Board’s standards. For instance, recommended readings for the AP English exams consist primarily of Western classics, necessarily excluding other perspectives and restricting students’ scope of analysis. However, AP courses at OHS may be a good option for students seeking college credit without having to spend as much time on outside preparation as their peers in the alternative classes.

Several years ago, Globalizations and Imperial Exchange replaced AP World History in OHS’s history curriculum. Perhaps replacing other courses with alternatives would be a viable option for OHS. But right now, in the humanities, offering both APs and their alternatives seems to work well at OHS, and there are no similar offerings in OHS’s STEM departments.

At this point, students taking APs at OHS may want to consider the limits of the AP curriculum outlined above. But given the high enrollment number in many of the AP courses it currently offers and the option for students to take alternatives if they wish (for select courses), it may be best to keep the current ones for the time being.