Mia Ascencio

The new AP act that will affect course work.

Imagine arriving at school on Monday, January 22nd, ready to pick out classes for the next year, only to be warned by the teacher to keep an eye out for AP classes that may not be necessary for certain students. Although it may seem new, this change has been anticipated for a long time.

The Accelerated Placement Act is a law that was implemented to put any student who meets the state standards into the next most rigorous level of courses. In other words, if a student were to meet the requirements set by the state, they would be automatically placed into an AP class for the following school year. This goes for all four main subjects, Math, English, Social Studies, and Science. The new change has been a struggle for districts in the state to adjust to and prepare for. Last year the act was in the early stages but many schools ended up pushing back, allowing a one-year reassessment. 

“The thing is, you can opt-out and that is what we want people to know. Just because you meet standards doesn’t mean that you necessarily, for a multitude of reasons, should be in an honors or AP level class,” associate principal for Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, Shelly Kish said.

Moving forward, staff will be encouraging students to use the form that allows them to opt out of AP classes because once a student is in a class there is no wiggle room to get them out or switch them down to a standard-level class.

Many students are skeptical about this law, especially those already in AP classes. “I am a little bit [worried] because I’m not sure if it’s going to be the right level for me and I’m afraid that I would make a mistake by choosing that class instead of one that’s more my level,” sophomore Isabella Larson said.

The concern is reasonable but for some students that is not always the case. 

“I don’t really care where I get placed. I’m just gonna do my best to get all my work done in the meantime,” freshman Julian Ciber said.

Caring about the new change or not, it is important to consider the circumstances of enrolling in harder courses. With that, if you are considering opting out of a course, it is crucial to ask your counselor for the form sooner than later.