By Jerry Xu
<[email protected]>

The Advanced Placement Program at CHS has been expanding rapidly over the past few years with the addition of new AP classes and the increase in the enrollment for AP courses.

According to the College Board, which runs the Advanced Placement Program, the number of AP examinations taken has more than doubled between 2001 and 2010.

Counselor Maria Cottone, while she acknowledges she didn’t have exact figures for CHS, said, “I think we have doubled in size in terms of the amount of tests given, but also the amount of students who are taking AP classes has increased.”

Cottone said she attributes the increase in enrollment to a combination of two factors.

“A lot of the reason behind (the increase), is probably, number one, the state of Indiana is requiring AP classes as one of the options to attain the Academic Honors Diploma, so more students are trying to do that,” Cottone said. “Plus, with the recession and the economic times, the more AP classes (students) take, if (students) can earn college credit here at the high school, an $87 test is a bargain compared to the three credits of college tuition.”

Weighted grades also play a factor. According to Cottone, enrollment for AP World History, AP United States History and AP English Literature and Composition has especially increased.

Freshman Edgar Hu, who is currently enrolled in AP World History, said the weighted grade was an important factor during scheduling.

“I chose to take AP World (History) because it would bring my GPA up if I did well in it,” Hu said. “The difficulty of the class and the weighted grades would probably balance out, but getting a B+ in the class would still be better than getting an A in a regular class.”

However, as a result of the influx of students taking AP courses, the number of low scores on the AP examination has also increased.

“I do think that we have a larger distribution in terms of lower scores,” Cottone said. “Some students are probably taking AP classes when maybe they shouldn’t be. They’re attempting to get the AP class under their belt for the Academic Honors Diploma and so I see more 1’s and 2’s (on a 5-point scale) than I have in the past.”

Cottone said she thinks that the lower scores are a partially a result of students taking too many AP courses even when they are recommended for them.

“I think that when looking at taking AP classes, (students) really need to consider the big picture,” Cottone said. “When students are going to schedule and they get recommendations from their teachers, the teachers will look at them individually for that one class. But if you have six teachers thinking that (the student) can handle the AP, then so what your big picture is six AP’s which would be too many for most students.”

This year, AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature have been added to the curriculum. According to Crystal Brim, AP Spanish Literature teacher, the two courses specialize in two distinct areas of Spanish, which gives students new learning opportunities.

There are a variety of differences between the AP Spanish courses and Spanish V, however;  both classes are conducted almost entirely in Spanish and do not use the traditional system of tests and quizzes.

“I would say the biggest change and sometimes challenge would be writing entire papers in Spanish,” junior Roy Chen, who is enrolled in AP Spanish Literature, said. “I have probably written more for this class than any of my other classes this year, including AP U.S. History. The vast majority of big grades are written analyses rather than the typical Scantron exams.”

Despite the increase in students taking AP classes, Cottone said she still urges students to search for balance between their school work and extracurricular activities.

She said, “So even though the AP classes are weighted, students need to be very careful not to get in over their heads and risk having a good transcript, and balance in their life because (students) have got activities to do.”