I feel super annoyed because my school won’t let me take any AP or Honors classes (which colleges practically require) even though I get good grades. It’s all because I didn’t get good grades in middle school, which doesn’t make any sense!! Does anyone know how I could somehow get into courses that would look better on an application, or am I basically done for because I got a D in the eighth grade?
Where are your parents? Maybe it is time for them to speak with the school administration about your course placement.
School administrator here, recommending the following course of action:
- Start nice. Sitting together with your parents at a meeting with your guidance counselor, speak with the guidance counselor and ask to be in the more advanced course. Present yourself as newly motivated and eager to challenge yourself adequately and create a good future for yoruself. You could offer to take a final from the normal prerequisite course for the course you want, to see if you can do well enough on it. Agree that if you struggle in the course , you always can switch to a lower level class, but you want to try. (Hint: if you can’t do well on the final from the course before, the school has a point. You could catch up from summer courses at a college or double up on prereq’s junior year to be able to take a harder class , but the class would be inappropriate for you right now.)
- If the answer is no, take the same pleasant tone conversation to the principal.
- If the principal’s answer is no, take the same pleasant tone conversation to the superintendent.
- If the superintendent says no, ask if he will be so kind as to accommodate your reasonable request and give you a chance to prove you can do it. Have your parents suggest gently that it might be necessary for them to contact the Board of Education or get a lawyer, because they love you and want you to be able to take the courses that will challenge you. Do not make this quasi-threat until you have gone all the way up the chain of command to the superintendent! And if you make it, do not make it sound like a threat, just like a logical next step. Stay on good terms and assume the staff wants the best for all its students, including you.
- If he still resists, call the president of the BOE and/or come back with a lawyer who specializes in educational advocacy. A lot of lawyers who specialize in advocating for students with disabilities could probably support your case well, because they know all the laws about equity of educational opportunity, even if you do not have a disability.
At my daughter’s school they gave placement tests for students who didn’t academically qualify based on previous grades. Usually the department head got involved if it was for a particular course. Totally agree with the suggestions of the above poster!
Great advice above. I get the annoyance and admire the ambition. Like all problems–and this is in line with above advice–approach the situation in a positive, solutions-based way. Here’s the situation. What are possible solutions? Who is important to a solution? How can I appeal to them in a way that will garner their support? Then execute on the best plan suggested by the answers to those questions. Being positive and solutions-oriented always works better than annoyance and/or anger. Good luck!
Go with GreyKing’s advice. I think your parents are going to have to help you fight this battle. Key word: help. It’s easier to brush off a student alone than one with a parent or two in the room. But you should do at least half the talking, explaining your position (but don’t go making excuses for the D unless it was legitimately medical). Tell what you have done to remediate the D (took summer school, worked on workbooks over the summer to review the material). Explain what you’ve done to prepare for honors classes (got a new organization system lined up, read books on study habits, visited a college which inspired you to do better and reach higher).
Our school will take the student’s preference into account IF they make an acceptable and mature argument.
But first…you say you got good grades…did you get A’s?
If you got an A in 9th grade English and * you are interested in doing the work * for Honors 10th grade English, then talk to your guidance counselor (what the @TheGreyKing said). Always go up the chain of command.
But if you got a B+, which is still pretty good, they may not feel you are ready.
Here are tips in stepping up your game in HS