Posted by
Waski_the_Squirrel on Thursday, June 12, 2008 2:00:00 PM
I've noted before that junior and senior year should include college-level courses for some students. I see these two years as a transition to adulthood. Other students are doing apprenticeships. Anyway, the goal is to get them ready for adulthood.
Years ago, schools recognized that they had students who needed coursework that was more challenging than what was given to regular students. These were the students who would go on to college. The courses that resulted were called "Honors." The result was that some students took "Honors Chemistry" or "Honors English." In times of budget crunch, schools asked the reasonable question as to what the advantage of honors was. These courses would then be cut. A few years later, when the cash was there, they would be brought back.
The thing is, too many of these courses were little different from the regular version. At some schools, the teacher moved through the material faster. At others, the teacher might go into topics in more depth. However, there was no agreement as to what "honors" meant. Furthermore, the students who did not take the honors courses could go to the same colleges as those who did.
Then, some high schools started down the road to my dream school. Some offered "dual-credit" courses. These were courses that offered both college and high school credit. Schools fortunate enough to share a town with a college might bus their students over to the college for certain courses. Other schools brought in either AP or IB courses. These were courses with a recognized curriculum and an end-of-course exam. A high enough score on the exam resulted in college credit.
The result is that honors courses are disappearing. I like the concept, somewhat, at the junior high level, but, really, why take an honors course? The Washington Post recently examined
this trend. If I were a high school student I'd much rather take the course that will help me in college. It makes sense. College should not be a brutal shock to students. High school needs to do a better job to transition them to college-level work.
Honors meant very little because it was not defined. AP and IB are well defined. Even dual credit is somewhat defined.
In short, this is a trend I support. It's moving education closer to my "dream school."