By Shaylyn Austin
News Editor
Advanced Placement study sessions are a privilege for students enrolled in the AP course, and the acceptance of non-AP students who wish to attend these sessions should be based on teacher discretion.
In the weeks leading up to AP exams, many teachers hold study sessions for their students outside of the normal school day in order to review the year’s material and cover new topics. The rejection of college preparatory students from attending sessions this year prompted the Mira Costa administration to send an email to all faculty members stressing that students cannot be barred from “public meetings.”
The administration is reasonably expressing the open principles of a public school, but AP teachers should be able to make the ultimate decision on whether students not enrolled in the class can attend.
There is nothing wrong with a student wanting to test his or her knowledge by taking the AP test for a certain subject without enrolling in the AP class. However, the student should not expect to receive the same benefits from the teacher as the students who have been studying the material in the AP course.
In the last weeks leading up to the exam, a teacher’s main focus should undeniably be on preparing his or her own students that have sat in the class, taken the tests and completed the assignments for the past eight months. If a teacher believes that the acceptance of non-AP students into their study sessions would take attention away from this priority, that teacher should be able to deny admission into the sessions and give priority to their own students.
In addition, although they’re commonly referred to as “review” sessions, many teachers utilize the time as an extension to their normal class periods and lecture on new material because of Costa’s late start and end. Having to incorporate students who do not attend the actual class period into these sessions could serve as distractions to the rest of the class through questions or behavior, especially since the non-AP students likely did not learn the material at the same level and would be expected to interrupt by asking many questions.
If a previous agreement is made between the student and teacher in which the student could simply audit the session as an observer, these students’ potential impact on the session would be limited. However, the teacher, not the administration, should develop this condition, and it should be applied on a case-by-case basis instead of as a blanket policy statement.
Although some may argue that students may not have the room in their schedule to take the desired AP class, sacrifices must be made to take any desired class or elective at Costa, whether it be summer school or the decision to not take a different class.
Nonetheless, in this occurrence, the student can arrange a meeting with their CP teacher and the AP teacher beforehand in order to discuss what is necessary of the student to attend, such as required reading or assignments that the student must complete as preparation. This would eliminate the instance of a random, unfamiliar student to a teacher walking into a session with the expectation of the teacher welcoming that student with open arms. Even in this case, teachers should still have the ability to decide their own policy.
Whatever the policy, planning will be required at the beginning of the school year to avoid the confusion that occurred this year in the middle of AP testing season.
If a student does not partake in the ideal preparation for the AP exam, but still seeks instruction from the teacher of the AP course, the situation should be handled through communication among the student and the teacher.
While some argue that teachers have a responsibility to all students, their main duty lies in the ones who made the commitment to their class. It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that their own students are in the best learning environment, and this is an environment that can only be created when each teacher is given control over his or her sessions.
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