Students at Hall High school are filling up their schedules with AP classes in order to appease parents and get into good colleges, but is this beneficial to them?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, students in the United States spend an average of 6.8 hours on homework per week. When asked how many hours of homework she has per week, Brigid Bernoski, a senior at Hall High School who takes two AP classes, stated that she has around fifteen hours of homework. This increase in homework is a double-edged sword as students lose out on a significant amount of free time. However, they also get the chance to experience the workload of post-secondary education.

Support by teachers is a factor in the success of students in standard and AP classes. Thomas Ledvorowski, a teacher at Hall High School, stated, “…your first and number one resource should be your teacher.” Because of this necessity for communication, students learn self-advocacy skills that are necessary for post-secondary education work, but can they learn these skills in non-AP classes? The answer is yes, these skills can be created and honed in standard classes however in AP classes, these skills are far more important. 

According to Eliana Simmons, a student at Hall High School, “The main thing that can make AP classes more stressful is the fact that they’re a more competitive environment,…It’s been a much more relaxed environment in the standard classes I’ve taken, even when the workload was just as bad” Learning how to cope with this competitiveness can make it easier to cope with many stressors around finding a job, house, and even a car in post-secondary education life. While this is a major benefit, the American Psychological Association stated in 2018 that “Our bodies are well equipped to handle stress in small doses, but when that stress becomes long-term or chronic, it can have serious effects on your body.” This shows that having a high stress level can have lasting effects that may not be worth the skills developed. 

AP classes have many benefits and many drawbacks so it is up to the student to decide whether or not it is worth it to join AP classes.