Pro-AP:
Jonathan Huang ’19
Nishant Thangada ’19
Luca DiLeonardo ’19
AP classes strongly bolster EA’s curriculum and help in fostering the best possible education for students. They provide a college-level rigor that cannot be found in curriculums that do not provide such classes. Garrett Cooley ‘19 confirms that “AP classes are definitely challenging, but still manageable all in all”. Upper School French teacher Christele Furey states that the course rigor found in AP classes is appealing. “From a teacher’s perspective, I love APs! It makes sure teachers don’t lose track of what needs to be taught, keeping the integrity of course rigor,” says Furey. Such rigor, along with the self-selection of AP classes, also allows for in-depth study of subjects students are personally passionate about and interested in. (Possible Quote)
Moreover, AP classes are crucial for teacher development because teachers have access to resources provided by the AP organization. Matthew Memmo, Chair of the Computer Science Department, explains, “APs provide training for teachers to learn how to engage with students in a meaningful manner. For example, I attended a conference over the summer in which a professor stressed methods for teaching certain concepts better, as well as emphasizing more personalized instruction.” Chris Anderson, Upper School Dean of Academics, concurs, saying “Teachers are able to participate in workshops that help us improve our instruction of students in the future.”
AP Classes also have strong long-term benefits for students and parents. Students taking these rigorous AP courses are setting themselves up for future success at higher institutions for learning. Chris Zimmerman ‘19 states, “I like AP courses because they really help prepare me for college.” Furey, mother of three EA alumni and one current Upper School student, endorses AP classes from a parent’s perspective as well: “With AP credit, parents are able to save so much money by passing out of certain [college] courses.” The level of difficulty of AP courses allows for placing out of basic requirement courses. In college, this translates to increased student flexibility, as students are able to graduate earlier and explore new courses that they otherwise would not have been able to take. Anderson justifies this, as she has “ had many students that through AP classes, were able to place out of certain college classes and save time and money that could’ve been used elsewhere.” Although the cost of AP exams might seem overly expensive, by performing well on said exams, students can potentially save thousands of dollars that would have otherwise been spent on college classes.
The AP curriculum and course selection at EA should remain high and present in the Upper School as it allows students to challenge themselves academically and prepare for college, provides teachers with advantageous training, and may save families thousands.
Photo Courtesy of Elizabeth Palumbo ’19
Anti-AP:
Pia Singh ’19
Belle Volatile ’20
Along with a multitude of both public and private schools, The Episcopal Academy heavily institutes the AP curriculum so that its students have the opportunity to take rigorous, college-preparatory courses in a nationally measurable form of education. However, that is not to say that classes must be “AP” in order to be equally rigorous.
The majority of the AP curriculum is standardized to the bone, allowing less opportunity to go in depth on interesting topics that can propel students with a want to learn, rather than a want to impress admissions committees through rapid – and often baseless – memorization. Schools such as EA that are exceptionally affluent, renowned for academic rigor, and consequently well-reputed within the college process are the institutions that can afford to have an individual curriculum. Grace Smith ‘19 expresses, “When the majority of EA kids are applying to top tier universities, it doesn’t make sense to require AP exams. These schools don’t accept AP credit, and as a result, students are spending a fortune every year on tests that will count for nothing.” With Episcopal’s established recognition as a rigorous institution, it can easily afford to venture beyond the national AP curriculum and delve deeper into a more specialized range of diverse courses.
Tony Herman, who teaches Honors American Literature, advocates for an advantage he has with teaching an Honors course rather than AP. He says, “I like Honors a little bit more personally because it gives me a bit more freedom but it also keeps the high octane class environment where kids want to read, want to write, and want to work hard. And then we not necessarily specifically prepping for the AP, but the kids at EA do well on the AP anyway because it’s a rigorous course that we are providing.” To that end, though we may not entirely abolish the AP curriculum, designated Honors classes evidently cover AP material and prepare students for the exams but on top of that, encourage an environment where kids are more free to develop their personal intellectual pursuits.
Institutions of higher learning provide courses across a variety of subject topics that will intrigue and appeal to a more diverse student body. Though we may not entirely abolish the AP curriculum within our school, we have an incredible amount of room to grow within our humanities curriculum – often binded to AP courses and less exploratory in nature. Episcopal offers nearly double the amount of maths and sciences courses in comparison to its history and literature courses. For humanities students at the Academy yearning for more knowledge, there is little excitement.
Competing private schools such as The Haverford School and The Agnes Irwin School offer a wide availability of seminar style classes that appeal to a much greater student body, providing students with the flexibility to pursue individual interests and learn about global perspectives. These seminar style classes include courses such as “African and African-American History with Honors”, “Middle Eastern Literature”, and “Artist as Entrepreneur”. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, responds to the AP vs. Honors debate in saying that “Basically, if we were to abandon the AP curriculum we’d have to replace it with something and that would require us to create honors courses. I think a lot of our teachers would be happy to do that, I know they would be happy to do that. I think it would be very interesting.”
A curriculum that is rigorous in academia and rich in opportunity is what great institutions like Episcopal must employ, not limit. The AP curriculum is restrictive – it has its benefits, but does not benefit all students.