The Advanced Placement program is a very commonly offered system in high schools across America. In 2023, nearly 23,000 high schools in the US offered at least one AP class. Through this program, students are offered the opportunity to receive college credit in high school if they receive a 3, 4 or 5 on their AP exam.
This system is extremely beneficial to students for a multitude of reasons. If students plan on going to a four year university, taking AP classes in high school can make them feel more comfortable with the amount of work that college classes require. On top of this, the AP program allows students to receive college credit for much cheaper than a class offered through a university.
Despite these benefits, only 35% of high school graduates have taken an AP course while in high school.
I’ve heard many of my classmates say that they don’t plan on taking AP classes during high school because they are worried about the difficulty of the material taught in the class. As someone in several AP classes, I believe that the amount and difficulty of the work taught in these classes is far from unmanageable.
The teachers at De Pere High School who teach AP classes are trained in how to best help students receive a good grade in the class as well as the AP exam. The teachers know that most students have never participated in a college level course before, and they know how to best support their students.
Plus, if students plan on going to college after they graduate from high school, they will be taking college classes anyways. It will make the college experience much easier for incoming college freshmen to know what a college class is like before diving into it blindly.
College students are proven to do better in their classes if they have taken AP classes in high school, so getting that experience while in high school will ultimately benefit students in the long run.
Not only do AP classes benefit students academically, but also financially.
College classes are extremely expensive, with an average course from a public four year college ending up being $390 per credit hour. Meanwhile, the standard exam fee for AP classes in the US is just $99.
This means that taking college classes offered in high school through the AP College Board program is not only much cheaper than traditional college courses, but also these classes help prepare students for what a four year college experience is like.
