From President Barack Obama to guidance counselors and savvy parents, adults urge teens to take the most rigorous classes to prepare for college, get an edge in admissions and rack up credits even before stepping on campus
But tens of thousands of Illinois students remain shut out of Advanced Placement classes — long considered the gold standard for college readiness — because of a dearth of courses elsewhere in the state coupled with disparities in the Chicago region, where AP classes range from plentiful to meager, according to a recent Chicago Tribune story.
To participate in the AP program, high school teachers must provide the College Board, the nonprofit that administers the national program, with course materials every year that demonstrate the rigor appropriate for a college-level class.
As many as 33 Advanced Placement courses could be offered during the 2010-11 school year. Students at Lane Technical High School had 27 subjects to choose from, while Whitney Young Magnet High School provided 26, the Chicago Tribune reported last week.
The range at West Side high schools? Seven to zero. Here’s how Austin stacked up:
Austin Business & Entrepreneurship High School offered AP courses in 1 subject – U.S. Government and Politics.
Austin Polytechnical Academy offered AP courses in 1 subject – Calculus AB.
Michele Clark Academic Preparatory Magnet High School offered AP course in 6 subjects – Biology; English Language and Composition; English Literature and Composition; Psychology; Statistics; U.S History.
Frederick Douglas Academy High School offered AP courses in 6 subjects – Chemistry; English Language and Composition; English Literature and Composition; Environmental Science; U.S. Government and Politics; U.S. History.
Charles Allen Prosser Career Academy High School offered AP courses in 7 subjects – Biology; English Language and Composition; English Literature and Composition; European History; Psychology; U.S. History; World History.
VOISE Academy High School offered AP courses in 0 subjects. It was one of 79 high schools in Cook County with no AP classes, according to the Chicago Tribune.
I’m an English teacher at VOISE Academy, and we offered three AP courses this school year: AP English Language and Composition, AP Government, and AP U.S. History. VOISE Academy is also only in its third year, which means that we offer 1 AP course to our sophomore class and 2 AP courses to our junior class. We intend to offer 3 more AP courses next year for a total of 6 AP courses.
Also, I would like to add that it is disingenuous to compare the amount of AP courses offered at schools that have a much larger population of students (Lane Tech has approx. 400o students and and has been establised for about 100 years) to the amount of AP courses offered at a small school, such as VOISE Academy (VOISE has approx. 300 students and has been established for 3 years).
I am a V.O.I.S.E. Academy junior student, who would like to say something about the points that you have made about this school and the classes we offer. I have taken two AP classes and we have always offered honors classes since we started in 2009. In my opinion, I think we are making progress, since we only have been open for three years. We also plan to have many more AP classes in the up coming years, but since the class of 2012 is the first year, we have to get to that level in order to offer more. Come see us next year and then you will have your evidence that we are always working hard.
I am a junior at VOISE Academy, and I have been here since the school has started. I would know if my school is offering AP classes or not. I am proud to say that I have taken two AP classes: AP Language & Composition and AP Government & Politics. I have took the AP test on May 10 and 11. I also have taken the ACT and thanks to my AP English teacher and other teachers, my score has improved, and I got a 22, which means I am eligible to earn several scholarships. Just to make a suggestion, you should come to our school and find out what we offer. We would love to be a part of your articles. Thank you!