Upper Arlington High School is now nearing the end of its first semester, and soon, students who are not graduating will have to make the important decision of what classes they wish to take in the 2024-2025 school year.
The process of selecting honors classes is a delicate balancing act, one that requires students to consider their academic interests, future aspirations, and personal well-being.
As Liz Hughes, a counselor on the second floor of UAHS put it, “All of our on-level or regular classes are college prep and rigorous. I think sometimes we lose sight of that that all of them are already college prep and rigorous without the honors label or the AP or IB, and they’re all going to help prepare you for life after high school without the honors or AP level.”
However, for students who are passionate about certain subjects, it is recommended that they pursue honors classes in those areas.
“There are advantages to taking those higher level courses when it’s something that you’re passionate about—in a subject that you’re passionate about and interested in,” Mr. Biedenbach, a counselor on the third floor of UAHS, said. “Do a deeper dive into it by taking an honors class or an AP class or an IB class. The advantage is that deeper dive into an area that you’re really excited about.”
This deeper dive is one of the aspects of honors classes that make them stand out from on-level classes. Some other ones include methods of learning and time investments.
“Oftentimes, teachers will say, number one, there’s more independent work. Once you’re doing an honors level class, they expect you to be able to know how to do certain things without them covering it in class, per se, or being able to teach it yourself based on the information that’s given to you through the resources of the class,” Amy Aspengren, a school counselor on the first floor, said. “More responsibility falls on you as a student versus them covering it in step-by-step processes in the actual class.”
While honors classes can provide a deeper dive into a subject and potentially give students a competitive edge in college admissions, they also come with increased academic pressure. The school’s administrators and counselors are keenly aware of this and emphasize the importance of balance.
“So I think that balance is really, really important and not focusing on GPA specifically. We have students that graduate every year that have never taken an honors level course, and they go on to colleges and do just fine,” Biedenbach said. “So it’s really a matter of what’s best for you as an individual, not what’s best for what your friends or peers are doing. It’s about what you should be doing for yourself.”
Despite this, one question still remains unanswered: How exactly does a regular class become an honors class?
The journey of a class from a regular to an honors offering is a rigorous one. It involves a proposal from teachers, review by department chairs, and approval by a committee that includes administrators and the district superintendent. The final decision is made by the school board.
“Usually, in the fall, teachers will propose courses or propose changes,” Matt Jordan, an assistant principal at UAHS, said. “So maybe something like a list of courses, honors, or presenting a new honors course would come in the fall that would go to department chairs. The department chairs kind of come up with recommendations. That recommendation then goes to the building administrators and then goes to the district superintendent, who has a committee called the Teaching and Learning Committee, and then, after that, it would go to the school board because of our program of study. So all of the courses that we offer in the building are approved by the school board.”
This process ensures that only classes that offer a higher level of academic rigor and go beyond the standard curriculum are designated as honors classes. It also allows for the continual updating and improvement of the school’s course offerings.
As Beidenbach explained, “Departments have opportunities to present to a committee of folks about new courses that they want to offer. Sometimes that includes on-level versus honors. And so really I wouldn’t say there’s a specific requirement, other than [that]departments have the opportunity to kind of present that.”
Although students are not able to propose class ideas of their own or recommend classes to be honors to the department chairs, students can talk with their teachers about their ideas, which may in turn result in the creation of new opportunities for future students.
The honors classes at Upper Arlington High School offer students a unique opportunity to challenge themselves academically, delve deeper into subjects they are passionate about, and prepare for their future academic and career paths. However, it’s important for students to remember the advice of their counselors and administrators: balance is key, and the goal should always be personal growth and learning, not just a higher GPA.
“I think it’s important that students find their balance and don’t rely on what their friend is doing or maybe what an older sibling did, but really trying to figure it out for themselves and what that balance is,” Jordan said.
