Pro: Prerequisites prevent student failure
By Alex White
Staff Writer
Prerequisites for AP and honors classes are completely necessary requirements for difficult courses designed to ensure students have the knowledge and skills to be successful in a class before taking it. Mira Costa’s policy on the issue is the best solution for this situation, and a looser approach would hurt the current system.
Prerequisites are meant to prohibit students at Costa who are not fit to take a high level courses from enrolling in them. These rigourous classes require that students have certain important skills as well as prior knowledge about the subject, both of which are needed from the first day of the course. Those students who have not met the prerequisites are not sufficiently prepared for the class and, therefore, should not be let into the class.
The prerequisites for the AP European history class are a good example of the necessity of students’ training prior to entering the course. The requirements are an A in English 1-2 or a B in Advanced English 1-2. AP Euro requires a high writing level that would earn a student an A in a CP class or a B in a more advanced one. Those who lack the requirements are disadvantaged and behind on information from the very first day.
But this isn’t to say the so-called “middle student” should be barred from taking any advanced classes. Not all students can handle a full schedule of advanced class, but if students feel they will excel in certain subjects, they should be encouraged to take them. Mira Costa’s waiver system already allows for students who are actually qualified and passionate to avoid prerequisites that they may have trouble meeting. This looser system currently works well.
Eliminating prerequisites altogether would create a nightmare for administrators and teachers alike because of the increased number of scheduling changes. Even with the current standard of AP commitment forms, students are still finding ways to drop classes. If every student is allowed to take on a load of as many advanced classes as he or she pleases, the number of students dropping is sure to increase. Furthermore, students in AP and honors classes need more individualized attention from teachers. Teachers shouldn’t have to spend their time giving attention to students who will drop the course anyway.
Opponents of prerequisites claim that all students should have the opportunity to take as many advanced classes as they please. However, no student at Costa is barred from taking an AP class; all they have to do is succeed in school to prove they can handle AP classes. It is very rare for a student to not do well in a CP class, but thrive in an AP class of the same subject; when this is the case, waivers are available.
Two of the most important keys to success in an AP class are a strong work ethic and organization. If students don’t have the study skills to get the necessary grades in the prerequisite courses, they are probably not fit to take more advanced classes simply because they will be unprepared.
At the same time, more is required of an AP student than just a good work eithic. An AP student must have a strong grasp of the subject; therefore, a simple GPA requirement is not sufficient.
Mira Costa adopted prerequisites for AP and honors classes for a reason, and the problems they eliminated then would still plague us today if they were repealed.
Con: Flexibility is needed, not restrictive rules
By Alex Wycoff
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District is currently considering lowering prerequisites for entry into Advanced Placement and honors classes. Lowering these requirements for entry is a necessary action which will bolster Costa’s commitment to high quality advanced placement programs.
Entry into an AP class usually requires a certain prerequisite course of the same subject as well as a particular grade in that class.
These requirements should be more lax. Not all students can make it into an AP class that they might be able to excel in because they do not meet the requirements. Some students are simply better or worse at different subjects.
The AP statistics course, for example, requires an unweighted 3.0 GPA, and a B in Algebra 3-4. This course has been described by AP statistics teacher Daniel Debevec as a course which utilizes a great amount of reading, writing and analytical skills.
Furthermore, some students who might excel at a certain course may not be able to take it simply because they were not able to take some of the prerequisite classes.
Some people who oppose liberalizing the prerequisites might argue that the inability of students to meet the requirements means that they are not fit for the class. They may also say that lessening requirements for an AP class would lead to overcrowding in these classes and allow unfit students into the class.
However, the prerequisites could be changed to be based solely on a GPA requirement for all classes. Costa’s 2012-13 course handbook describes an appropriate AP level student as self-motivating, organized and with high academic achievement and intellectual ability. A high GPA would certainly reflect these qualities.
Costa could also add an entrance exam that students must pass in order to enter the class. A passing score would allow a student to take the class.
A look at the 2012-13 class handbook shows that numerous AP courses just like AP statistics require an unweighted 3.0 GPA. However, some students that have a GPA of 3.4 or higher have been unable to take the class due to a few poor grades, even though they’ve earned high marks in prior math classes. Low grades in courses completely unrelated to AP classes shouldn’t limit students from enrolling.
For example, AP European history, which is one of the first AP classes that students can take, requires an A in English 1-2. However, AP European history is a history and social studies class and is a different type of learning experience from English. Some students who would excel in a history class never get their chance because they are less advanced in English than they are in social sciences.
Furthermore, the lowering of class requirements would allow more students to take AP classes. This would, therefore, increase the academic prestige of Costa.
It would be counter-productive to completely eliminate prerequisites. Eliminating the requirements would allow many unqualified students to take a class that they are unprepared for. The requirements should simply be lowered to accommodate a larger number of students, without opening the classes up to all Costa students.
Changing the requirements of the AP classes to make it easier to get into them would allow increased flexibility for some of the capable students who simply did not have the opportunity to excel in a more difficult class.
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