Advanced Placement. What truly qualifies as “advanced?” A look into a typical Diamond Bar High School AP classroom goes a short way into answering that: Are those classrooms with students sleeping the advanced ones?

What has become clear is that it is too easy for DBHS students to register for AP classes, and that ruins their purpose.

Failing and AP are not words that should ever be used in the same sentence. By definition, advanced classes are meant for students who have an innate drive to succeed and take certain classes not for the name, but for the challenge. Too many students bite off more than they can chew when signing up for difficult classes; they become enamored with the distinction alone without regard for their ability to thrive in such a rigorous environment. It is disheartening to see the number of students who, try as they might, simply cannot grasp the material being taught.

The so-called Diamond Bar mentality is partly to blame; students feel pressured to take the most difficult classes offered in order to stay competitive, and those who fall behind feel like failures.

Yet, placing the guilt solely on mob mentality is irresponsible; students should be able to gauge their own ability. It should not be necessary for students to skip class on the day of their test because they don’t feel prepared; that in itself is a glaring indication that, like it or not, that student simply isn’t cut out for such a difficult course.

Stricter requirements to enter AP classes must be implemented. In the past, summer essays gated student entry into AP history classes; now, a placement test given at the end of the school year should do the same. Any student who truly has the ability to succeed in an AP class will prepare themself thoroughly It should not matter to a student determined to succeed whether or not they have learned the subject beforehand; they should be able to adequately prepare to pass the placement exam.

Combined with summer work, the test will deter both the students who lack dedication and the ones who do not have the ability to succeed in an AP environment; neither will be able to face the daunting workload ahead of them if they aren’t willing or able to put in the effort to even enter a class.

The tests should be graded by teachers who could set a cut-off score or simply take the top percentage of students. The implementation of a placement exam to bar entrance into AP classes would reduce the number of unmotivated students, as well as increase the difficulty of said classes. After all, AP classes are meant to mirror a college-level courses, and it is time that they begin doing so.

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