AP Literature prerequisites change
April 23, 2014
In another attempt to change the Advanced Placement program, one of the many prides of the school, Diamond Bar High School lowered the prerequisite students need to secure a seat in the AP Literature course.
“The prerequisite to get into AP Lit was lowered to open access to AP classes,” Julian Rodriguez, the Dean of English Language Arts, stated.
However, the changed prerequisites are not set in stone because the deans will evaluate how the changes impact students’ schedules and the number of students taking the course. The prerequisites are open for modifications to cater to the needs of the students.
The class of 2015 will be the first to witness the effects the newly changed prerequisite, and seniors of next year’s graduating class have mixed feelings.
“I think that this change is really great because it gives people more of a chance to get into AP Lit even if they messed up this year and did badly in AP Rhet,” junior Andru Liu stated.
Some juniors, like Sharon Sengphanith, think otherwise.
“People who get C’s in AP Rhet will have a really hard time in AP Lit.”
But regardless of the standard change, DBHS English teacher Joe Moran says that nothing will change in how he runs his class.
“I think it’s a movement on part of the state to be more inclusive, to give everyone the opportunity to take AP classes. The standards in my class will be the same and my students will receive the grade that they earn. I think it’s a bit incongruous that you can get a C to get into AP Literature but get a B to get into AP Language,” Moran commented.
The last time the AP program experienced a big change similar to this was two years ago, when AP Language was opened to juniors. This consequently raised the number of AP students at DBHS, which was one of the factors that allowed DBHS to rank so high in the 2014 America’s Most Challenging High Schools by the Washington Post.
DBHS AP Lit teacher Deborah Clifford admits that she feels conflicted over the change. “On one side, I want the strongest students for Lit but I don’t think a C in Rhet is going to tell me who is strong. Sometimes strong Rhet students are unconformable in Lit, so I don’t know if a C will gauge success in Lit. But I do want many to come into the class because I think it is a valuable experience. The question is between experience and access,” she said.
