by Anna Real
Circulation Manager
Despite the fact that College Preparatory classes do not exactly align with college courses, these CP level classes should continued to be considered as a vital part of Costa’s course offering because they adequately prepare students for college.
CP classes at Costa include sciences such as Biology and Chemistry, English and foreign languages, and a variety of history courses among others. CP classes make up the vast majority of class offered at Mira Costa compared to Honors and Advanced Placement courses. Most of Costa’s required courses, and therefore students’ core curriculum, is made up of CP classes.
According to a study by the American Psychological Association, the critical thinking required by CP courses not only helps prepare students for college, but for the real world as well. Colleges also accept students based on how many CP classes they take in high school, according to Peterson’s College Information Company. The CP lessons help students develop the right kind of mindset for college and turn them into problem solvers in everyday life by focusing on critical thinking and time management.
According to former Costa student Ryan Braudo, the CP classes at Costa provide basic knowledge that is used in colleges. Taking an English CP class in high school gives students students a strong foundation of grammar and analytical writing due to the California State Standards for CP classes. CP classes provide students a broader understanding of a subject before studying it in depth in college and therefore help prepare students, without mimicking the college environment.
Someone might argue that college courses are mostly graded on test scores while high school students also have homework grades in their CP classes factored in to boost their grade. However, homework grades still do not significantly help high school students since homework usually counts as a smaller fraction of a student’s overall grade compared to test scores. Homework is also essential to learn basic skills like time management, critical thinking, and become problem solvers, which help potential college students more than solely given them tests. CP classes in high school should educate students about college grading systems, but should still provide homework, to better prepare students.
CP classes have been criticized that they do not give enough work to prepare students for the stress of college. This is inaccurate because high school students, on average, according to the recent study at the University of Phoenix, students in CP classes receive 17.5 hours of homework a night, along with major grades such as tests or quizzes every one to two weeks. Comparatively, in college, students only have around 3 major tests a semester that mostly make up their final grade, and colleges usually assign 15-25 hours of homework and studying a week, according to a study done at the University of Oregon. This proves that high school workloads are actually more time intensive because students have less time outside of the classroom. Although the workloads are not identical. they do closely align and are needed to teach students to use their time wisely.
Some CP classes at Costa have midterms, just like college courses do, in the middle of the semester, while others do not. According to former Mira Costa student Ryan Braudo, midterms are beneficial and are good practice since college grades are mostly dependent on test scores anyway. The Costa administration should encourage midterms to be implemented in every CP class, but not require them. Students can be well-prepared for college without have testing schedules identical to a college curriculum.
College Preparatory classes at Mira Costa are able to prepare students for the transition from high school to college, although they do align perfectly with a college course, and should remain a valued part of Costa’s curriculum.
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