Are AP Classes Really Worth It?

Written by Abigail Peaslee and Grace Licitra Peevey

December 7, 2021

As the days and weeks slowly push forward in the Melrose school year, more and more students have come forward complaining and suffering over their workload for the remainder of 2021, and how hard it is to keep up to date and stay on task. In terms of lessons and homework, I myself have never felt more overwhelmed and lost in my life with the amount of work I am being continuously asked to complete. It also could be entirely my fault, with all the AP classes I have signed myself up for this year, and how the only skill that I have strengthened in the past couple of months has been procrastination.

Evidently, I feel that because of the rapid change in how the pandemic has set up new learning techniques, students this day in age do not know how to transition back into the learning environment they were once so familiar with. Teachers as well have not been able to get back into the swing of things as it may seem, and fewer lesson plans are being taught in the classroom where busy work and large sums of homework are made up for it. After interviewing multiple students from Melrose Highschool spanning from all different grade levels, I have encountered that the majority of pupils interviewed said they experienced their homework time being more than 5 hours a night. 

Melrose has been known to push Advanced Placement, college-level classes, even as freshmen and sophomores. As a freshman in the Melrose high school district, you have the opportunity to take AP European History as well as AP Biology. This new curriculum was introduced no longer than 5 years ago, and students are openly struggling with it. A recent article in the Melrose Patch was published last month discussing how mental health and suicide rates with teens at the high school have surprisingly gone up in the past 3 years which has caused concerned parents to raise an eyebrow. 

As for comparing Melrose with other schools in the area and county, Melrose is one of the only schools to push AP classes so heavily at the high school level and at such an early age. In the Medford school district, for example, Juniors are only allowed to take one or two APs in that grade level, same with seniors. 

Some might even argue that AP classes are not even worth it anymore as most High Schools in Massachusetts are now basing their GPAs as unweighted. This means that the push that AP classes once gave students on their Grade Point Average and transcript will no longer be recognized. This leads to another discussion that Advanced Placement classes are just a scam and marketing tactic. It is also a known fact that most AP class credits arguably do not even count once you enter many colleges unless you get a score of 5 on the final exam. 

APs in the first place were created to narrow down your focus as a rising college student, to see in the future what major you might be interested in. Therefore, you were only supposed to take one or two at the most. Nowadays, high school pressures and the grading system have become so competitive that kids are overworking themselves just to feel accomplished and be seen as a high achiever. 

If the stress levels and mental health decline in Melrose Highschool continue to stay erratic, what does this say for the future health and well-being of our students? What steps will the Melrose school board take to stop this madness and suffering?