The process of dropping an AP class at OHS has been proven to be unfruitful for many students, which leads to serious stress, anxiety and a decrease in academic confidence in many cases. In my opinion, if a student has taken or is taking a rigorous schedule of courses, they should be able to drop their respective AP course without much, if any, struggle.
To understand my perspective, I have experience with AP courses in English, science and history, and I am now attempting to drop the AP science course I am enrolled in at the semester mark and replace it with a course that I am passionate about and links closer to my future plans. Although I have a better, more useful plan for my next semester, I do not need the credit to graduate, and I have explained that, although I have the skillset and the experience in rigorous classes to push through the rest of the school year, I do not want to. However, I have yet to be able to actually make this schedule change happen. In fact, the friction that I’ve experienced through this process I find to be frustrating and unhelpful to students.
Other students have experienced the same obstacle.
“I had no idea what the class was going to entail before,” Grace Hickman (12) said. “And I just realized after the first test that it was going to be a really difficult class for me, and I wanted to focus more on my other classes, such as AP Government, because that’s something I was actually interested in.”
Before attempting to drop her class, Hickman attempted to study and seek help from other students and she would pay close attention in class; however, she was not able to get into the groove of learning for this college-level chemistry class.
“It was kind of told [to me] that I had to suck it up and do it. I had to just keep trying to get help with it,” Hickman said.
Although Hickman kept up her efforts throughout the year, she continued to suffer the emotional consequences of being stuck in a class that she could not succeed in.
“That was my one big stressor junior year — was AP Chem. I dreaded going to class every day, because I knew I would just feel stupid, because I felt like everybody else got it and I didn’t,” Hickman said.
Similarly to Hickman, Ellie Dong (12) almost immediately knew that the AP course she had signed up for was not the right fit for her.
“I was one of two girls, and immediately the environment was very tense,” Dong said.
Fortunately for Dong, she was able to swiftly change her schedule with aid from her counselor.
“I felt so relieved. The environment for AP Bio was just so much more inviting, and it just wasn’t as tense. It was just like the environment for AP Physics was just like indescribable, and I wouldn’t say in a good way,” Dong said.
Dong has no regrets regarding her schedule change despite not going through the challenges of an academically and socially tough class, which is what administrators endorse.
“[When considering dropping classes, we look at] What is the problem? Do you just need more help? Do you need to come to ANP? Do you need to go to after-school tutoring? And so we try to work it out that way,” principal Dana Scrabacz said.
The idea that many administrators and counselors have that pushing through a challenging class creates personal growth does have merit.
“I also know the value in pushing through difficult things. And I say that from experience of having gotten into classes that were over my head, and I learned more from pushing through that than I did from taking an easier semester,” counselor Dr. Jen Gross said.
Overcoming the hurdle of a challenging class can also be especially valuable in gauging how you are able to balance school and life prior to going to college.
“If you’re going into a really intense post-secondary field, great. This is a great time to kind of learn how you study and manage and all that. If you’re not sure that you’re going into a really intense field, take one or two. Don’t feel like you have to take all of these (AP courses),” Gross said.
Furthermore, each student is different, and their response to a year-long, possibly insurmountable challenge is different, too.
“[For] some students, it can be a very motivating thing to be overwhelmed. For others, it can completely shut you down,” Gross said.
I fully understand the value of learning how you deal with stress and pressure, especially before being thrown into a less supportive college environment. However, in my opinion, students, especially those who have some experience in rigorous classes, more frequently than not, know when they are in over their heads and when it is more detrimental than beneficial to their mental and academic well-being to stay in a course they believe is unfit for them. So, I urge the administration to be more lenient with students attempting to drop an AP course who have already demonstrated their willingness to take challenging courses, especially seniors.
