This has been shocking to learn and, based on this thread, not all that uncommon. And it’s bad enough to require taking the exam, but if the district is going to do that, they should at least pay for it. Sheesh. So only those willing and able to pay up get to take the challenging classes? Awful, imo.
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We are of a very similar mindset on all of this. 
Of course my kid doesn’t have a ticket to a UC yet, but if that is not forthcoming I don’t think it will be for a lack of Honors or AP classes. Sometimes that luck matters too. And she’s already pretty happy with some of her options!
Edited to add because I just remembered: There was a big hue and cry a few years ago when our district stopped tracking kids into Honors/Regular math in 7th and 8th grades at the middle schools. Optional evaluation for Advanced Math was moved to the end of 8th grade as a step for HS entry. The result was not that math got dumbed down in middle school. 8th grade math is now a universal Algebra I course and then kids can differentiate in 9th grade, heading into Advanced Geometry if they qualify and regular if they don’t (and I think some remedial math options for those who need more support). It’s actually worked out well and my very non-math-oriented current college applicant was pleased to see that her 8th grade math actually “counts” for application to UCs and CSUs. I don’t think it would have under the old system. So that is a small example of a change made in the name of equity that I think has worn well. Obviously may not play out like that in all circumstances, but I try not to knee-jerk respond to changes that districts have actually put some thought into.
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Our school requires you to take the AP exam but it pays for like the first 8 exams. After that you are required to pay for them.
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This is also much easier when it’s 1 family per school. The task is much harder when it’s 10-15 kids in every classroom.
H’s school offers free tutoring after school once/week. The teachers get paid to stay. But you have to opt in. Not many do even though only 30-60% pass the various standardized tests.
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It may be covered by your state education rules. In California, if anything is required, the district must pay for it. Thus, in our district while the AP tests are strongly recommended, the District doesn’t pay so they are not required. Drives our AP Gov Teacher crazy as the top kids usually skip the AP Gov test if their college choice does not offer any credit for it.
btw: The District does have a fund to cover the testing fees for lower income kids who wish to take the test.
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My kids took mostly all honors/AP classes, unfortunately many of the regular classes were on a low level. Most of my kids were fine with that, super easy A’s, but my kids would complain about some of the students and how they treated the teachers. Only one of my kids took AP English and the difference between her college essays and her siblings was big (all of them are math kids, early readers but that love didn’t last unfortunately, although the AP English kid is enjoying recreational reading again). It also depends on the teachers, of course.
Wow.
It’s not a matter of being illiterate, but a matter of mixing SAT 450 Reading kids in the same class as SAT 750 Reading kids, all of which are considered “College Prep”.
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I’m not sure why that is inherently bad? Because they won’t all perform to the same level? I don’t think we assume that they will anyway - that’s why we have grades. The top students doing top work will get the top the grades, the average students doing average work will get average grades. I don’t think it has ever been expected that all students in a certain class have the exact same capabilities and motivation.
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Because it doesn’t help any of them. The kids at the bottom don’t get the help they need and the kids at the top aren’t challenged.
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And I will add, everyone ends up feeling bad. One of my kids was so frustrated by a mixed ability class during " discussion" that she finally wrote down and distributed questions for her classmates to ask to move the topic along. My other kid, less academicly gifted, was given a script of talking points by her smart peers so that she didnt go off track during the group project presentation ( and hurt their chances of admission to Cornell, they added).
Not everyone has the same ability or interest in a topic and it is best to recognize that. My kid was actually grateful to her partner in anatomy who told her upfront he wasnt going to do a damn thing and didnt care if he failed but would sign onto whatever she did. At least she knew where she stood.
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Lol. BOTH of my kids had the exact same experience. They both found it easier for all involved I if they just carried the load. And they both hated those type of projects.
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But even in an honors class, won’t some kids be relatively high performing and some relatively low performing? I guess I don’t view any class - regular, honors, or AP - as likely to be perfectly homogenous. Sure, we can speculate that those who take honors are more highly motivated as students, although I am sure that is not uniform, either - I’m sure we all know of students whose parents force them to take honors and AP classes even when the student him/herself doesn’t particularly want to and we all know of students who take an AP class and get a C in it (rather than an A as some of their classmates may have gotten). There is really never uniformity, imo.
So imo the problem is not diversity of level/motivation within a class, but that some teachers are ill equipped to handle it and that in some districts classes are so overcrowded that it becomes an impossible task to manage it.
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Some difference in ability is to be expected. Vast gulfs can not be accomodated in any class by any teacher. Mixing those with 3rd grade math skills and those ready for algebra together wont help anyone.
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So of course they take different levels of math, English, etc. There are already different levels available at pretty much every school, even before you add in things like honors and AP classes. You can still have algebra, geometry, trig, pre-calc, calculus, etc and take the appropriate level at the appropriate time. That already exists. And there are a set of courses and skills that are required for high school graduation, so standards-based learning applicable to all students is already built into the system. A low-performing student will still need to take and pass certain classes in order to graduate (generally the algebra, geometry, algebra 2 sequence). A high-performing or higher interested student has the option to take higher level classes (trig, calc) as they progress. All of this already exists at most schools and does not necessarily require special designations (such as honors).
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That is the theory. The reality in most public schools doesnt remotely resemble that, but yes, in some affluent suburban districts it works out fine for the 5-10% of kids enrolled there.
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I agree - the problem is that not all public schools have the same capacity. So to my mind the issue is primarily one of equity in school funding (and related issues), rather than focusing on designations such as honors. If a school is adequately funded, I do believe it can meet the needs of the majority of students, even without such classes (I believe my D’s public school does a fairly good job of this, for example). But, yes, funding to my mind is the issue and as long as many public school remain woefully underfunded we’re going to have a lot of student fall through the cracks. And that isn’t fair to them. But that problem exists outside of the honors class debate.
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If funding could solve all issues NYC would have spectacular public education. It does not. Actually Mississipi scored better than NY in elementary reading scores last year.
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I finally just signed up for a free account so I could read the article, and I’m here to say that I really don’t think most people have read the linked article. What this district is doing is not measurably different from what a lot of districts have done to help try to raise instruction in introductory courses in high school so that MORE students are ready to take AP and advanced-level classes later in high school. This district is not eliminating AP classes or discontinuing offering higher-level math for kids who are ready for it. They are just not having “Honors” English class in 9th grade, etc. This is also true at our HS, and it’s fine. I would urge people to actually read the article before leaping to conclusions about what’s happening.
I’ll repeat also something from a different comment above: There was a big hue and cry a few years ago when our district stopped tracking kids into Honors/Regular math in 7th and 8th grades at the middle schools. Optional evaluation for Advanced Math was moved to the end of 8th grade as a step for HS entry. The result was not that math got dumbed down in middle school. 8th grade math is now a universal Algebra I course and then kids can differentiate in 9th grade, heading into Advanced Geometry if they qualify and regular if they don’t (and I think some remedial math options for those who need more support). It’s actually worked out well and my very non-math-oriented current college applicant was pleased to see that her 8th grade math actually “counts” for application to UCs and CSUs. I don’t think it would have under the old system. So that is a small example of a change made in the name of equity that I think has worn well. Obviously may not play out like that in all circumstances, but I try not to knee-jerk respond to changes that districts have actually put some thought into.
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Fair enough - I agree that it is a very complex problem, that likely requires more than funding (although it is funding that can attract the best teachers, classroom materials, smaller class size, etc).
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I think that honors/advanced classes should be available well before high school. I also think the same about remedial classes for those that need them.
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