For years, GBHS students have rushed to take AP classes whether it’s for college credit, a GPA boost, or simply a challenge. However, now that the Dual Enrollment program is offering a bump to the students’ GPA, many new classes have been introduced.
For many students, AP classes might seem too intimidating or challenging to enroll in because they are known to be more challenging and accelerated courses. The Dual Enrollment program offers students a healthy alternative, which is especially helpful considering the new DE classes offered this year.
One aspect that GBHS includes with its DE courses is the new grade bump that comes with taking them. Before this school year, weighted grade bumps were only offered with IB/AP classes.
Haleya, a GBHS senior who took DE Statistics, described her experience with the program as much less stressful than AP classes. “DE stats was my favorite easy class ever. I loved it because it was such an easy class,” she explained.
When asked about the differences between AP and DE, she noted that both cover a similar amount of material but DE comes without the high-stakes pressure of a single test at the end of the year.
“It’s a lot easier than taking an AP class, just because it’s pretty much the same amount of learning, but there’s less stress. There’s no AP test. You just kind of focus on your grade in class,” she said.
Haleya also emphasized the long-term benefits of DE courses. “DE is more valuable because you automatically get college credit without taking a test. So it’s cheaper, cost-effective, and time-efficient,” she said.
When asked whether she thought DE students would still be ready for an AP exam, she admitted that while it’s possible, the need isn’t really there. “I mean, yeah, but I don’t know why you would, because you already have college credit,” she added.
Ms. Elkin, a renowned psychology teacher at GBHS, has been a part of GBHS’ shift from AP to DE, as she recently began teaching DE Psychology instead of AP Psychology. “I would say the only real change is there are kids who have told me directly, ‘I would never sign up for an AP class because it just scares me’,” Elkin said. “I saw more kids who had always had an interest in psychology be willing to take the class and not be as scared.”
One common stigma associated with AP courses is the pacing and rapid-fire nature of the program, as a lot of the curriculum in AP courses is tied to teaching the students about how to prepare for the AP test at the end of the year.
With Ms. Elkin’s new flexibility for the curriculum she shared, “I don’t have to carve out as much instructional time to tailor to teach the kids the specific skills required to be successful on the AP test, so I get to use this instructional time for more collaborative efforts and more discussion time,”
DE classes don’t have any major exam at the end of the class to spend their time preparing for, allowing students to fully understand the subject without memorization and practicing for one singular test.
Elkin added, “I think that it’s limiting for people who are in a lower socioeconomic status, it’s an expensive test. “(College Board) is a for profit company, and they can take it, and there’s no guarantee that they’re going to pass it,” Elkin said.
DE classes in California typically do not have any tuition fees that come with taking them and earning college credit, whereas students in AP classes can only earn college credit in the AP test at the end of the year. In California, the cost of the AP test offered by College Board is $99, with a $37 fee reduction for students with significant financial need.
While both options may seem beneficial, there are also downsides to both. “Not all universities are going to accept these classes if they’re not on a community college campus, per se, and so there’s some navigating of that system,” Elkin added.
Ms. Elkin shared that regardless of their differences, both classes offer helpful opportunities as she stated, “I feel like there’s pluses and minuses to both. I like the inclusivity of DE.”
With DE and AP, students get the opportunity to choose from two options that are both helpful due to their relations with the college experience. While AP classes offer a college-level curriculum for the students, DE classes are college courses as they are taken through a community college and its curriculum. The new shift to DE can be very helpful to students seeking a college experience through a class due to the inclusivity of the courses.
