AP Course Decisions

For high school students, taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes can offer numerous benefits such as gaining college credit, improving academic skills, and strengthening college applications. However, it can be challenging to decide how many AP classes to take. 

AP classes are designed to provide college-level coursework to high school students. These courses offer students an opportunity to explore challenging subjects in greater depth and prepare them for college-level academic rigor. However, the workload of AP courses is typically higher than that of regular high school courses. Students should consider their academic ability based on their performance in previous academic years, including their grades, course difficulty, and study habits. Students must also factor in their workload, including from extracurricular activities.

Another factor to consider is a student's future goals. If a student is planning to attend a highly competitive college or pursue a career in a challenging field, taking multiple AP courses can demonstrate their academic readiness and preparedness. Even so, colleges take other factors into account, and there is no guaranteed number of AP courses that will substitute for a well-rounded and individual background.

Counselors, researchers, and consultants agree that it’s far more important to select a schedule that will be manageable to a student based on their workload, academic level, and future goals, rather than loading their schedule with as many AP courses as possible.

Anna Jordan, Tutoring Coordinator
anna@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Low Reading and Math Proficiency in CPS Schools

While CPS reported a record-breaking graduation rate in 2022, reading and math proficiency rates for students are a cause for concern, with only one fifth of high schoolers completing the subjects to a grade-level standard. These low proficiency rates have significant implications for students' future success, as they may struggle to keep up with coursework in higher grades or pursue advanced education or career opportunities.

According to 2022 data from the Illinois Department of Education, 55 schools reported zero students that were proficient in either math or reading. The causes of low proficiency rates in the Chicago Public School system are complex, but many attribute the decline to negative effects of the pandemic, including school closures and remote learning. However, proficiency numbers are only slightly lower than they were in 2019, so pandemic consequences only represent part of the picture. Other factors, such as growing levels of homelessness among CPS students, are also important to understand.

Efforts to improve proficiency rates in the Chicago Public School system are ongoing, with educators and administrators working to implement targeted interventions and programs aimed at supporting struggling students and improving academic outcomes. However, addressing the root causes of low proficiency rates will require a sustained and coordinated effort from stakeholders across the district and the broader community, including policymakers, community organizations, and families.

Anna Jordan, Tutoring Coordinator
anna@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Loss of Learning

Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a drastic decrease in academic achievement for students across the country. Both educationally and emotionally, over half of K-12 public school teachers admit that students have suffered greatly since the beginning of the pandemic. According to the Department of Education, only 26% of 8th graders are proficient in math compared to 34% proficiency of 8th graders in 2019. In addition, only 33% of fourth graders have achieved proficiency in math-- another dramatic decrease in performance. Experts in the education field believe that this is due to many factors that have resulted from the pandemic. Illness, isolation, remote learning, and anxiety are some of the leading issues students continue to face.

Among those affected, high-poverty areas have suffered the most in terms of educational decline. Sean Reardon, an education professor at Stanford states, “When you have a massive crisis, the worst effects end up being felt by the people with the least resources.” In some of the poorest communities such as that of Memphis, Tennessee, students lost over a year’s worth of progress in math and 70% of a year’s worth of progress in reading. Poverty and time spent learning remotely have proven to be two of the leading factors in students’ loss of learning.

To address these mounting issues, schools have put some strategies into effect. Many schools have added staff such as teacher’s aides to their classrooms, offered tutoring options, and created summer programs for student enrichment. Additionally, most schools have invested in technology in order to make remote learning as effective as possible. Nationally, school systems have spent over $190 million dollars in federal aid to promote academic recovery for students. Still, many educators feel these modifications are insufficient to meet the needs of struggling students, especially in economically disadvantaged school districts. Though adjustments have been made to minimize the effects of the pandemic, schools still struggle to fill positions and keep students engaged in the classroom.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
kayley@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/education-leaders-advise-how-to-aid-pandemic-learning-loss-159290949539

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/30/learning-loss-from-virtual-school-due-to-covid-is-significant-.html
 
https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-10-28/massive-learning-setbacks-show-covids-sweeping-toll-on-kids#:~:text=The%20analysis%20found%20the%20average,double%20those%20amounts%2C%20or%20worse.

Chicago Students are Still Struggling

According to recent data from Chalkbeat, Chicago Public School students are still suffering from the deleterious educational effects of Covid-19. Non-verified standardized test results indicate a severe drop in performance from previous scores in the 2018-2019 school year. After testing third through eighth-graders, the unofficial results show that only fifteen percent of students met the state standard for math and twenty percent for language arts. This is a stark contrast to pre-pandemic test scores where nearly twenty-five percent of students met the standard for math and twenty-eight percent for language arts.

While these results are preliminary, they present concerns for educators throughout Chicago. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade had particular difficulty, indicating a lack of foundational knowledge that may lead to more severe problems at the middle school level. Paul Zavitkovsky, an assessment specialist at the University of Chicago states, “the implication here is that without deep structural interventions at the middle school level that have been very difficult to achieve under the best conditions, the likelihood of learning recovery for kids now entering the middle school years is pretty low.”

As this preliminary testing data was released sooner than in years past, education officials and administrators are able to use the summer to prepare intervention methods specific to students’ needs.  Many educators plan to get students back on track via recovery plans and skill-oriented teaching. However, teacher shortages and staff burn-out may pose even more problems for struggling students and educational staff to overcome during the school year. Many worry that the long-term effects of this education crisis will have an adverse effect on students for years to come.

Kayley Horton, Tutoring Coordinator
nate@testprepchicago.com
(312) 848-1266