Dual Enrollment and AP Programs Misconceptions

The commonly held misconception is that AP and Dual Enrollment programs currently possess the means to positively impact every aspect of every student taking these courses, but this is far from the truth. Dual Enrollment and AP Programs have the potential to be effective, however, there are many unacknowledged mental, social, physical, and mental effects of students in these programs which are blatantly ignored. Once these programs become aware that students need more than academic success for their overall well-being, these programs can be on their way to becoming very effective.

Many may argue that these programs highly benefit low-income students by giving them college credit for a limited expense. Although it is true that the programs typically cost little to nothing, there are various deficiencies in offering these programs to students who are most in need of these benefits. According to” Is Increased Access Enough?…” by Ronald Hallett, ” Schools serving low-income students offer significantly fewer AP courses than their counterparts in more affluent communities.” Offering these courses in this format will create an increased gap between those students that can afford to go to college versus those that can’t. AP and Dual Enrollment programs can’t effectively help those with financial issues if the courses aren’t offered more widely in schools these students attend.

It may seem indisputable that the hard work and dedication students put into these courses will eventually pay off however this often isn’t the case. Looking again at Hallet’s text ” Is Increased Access Enough?…”, he states that: ” The connection between the competition of an AP course and college success has been in question. Students who complete AP courses do not necessarily experience success in college.” This proves that participation in the course doesn’t always positively impact students’ academics. When this occurs causes students to have wasted, time, effort, and even money only to take a harder course that generates college credit. This occurs when the student doesn’t receive a high enough score on their final test which occurs more than most realize!

It is a common theme amongst those who are not in advanced courses such as teachers and parents to undermine the difficulty of the courses and invalidate feelings of stress and anxiety. While it is true that teenagers tend to be “dramatic” there has been extensive research proving that overworked gifted students are showing signs of mental health illness. For instance, Shannon Suldo notes in her article “Predictors Of Success Among High School Students in…” that students in AP courses are reported to be exhibiting the following detrimental effects ” maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., procrastination, withdrawal, becoming emotional); they underscored the importance of strong organizational and time management skills to student success, as a general trait in addition to being relevant in times of stress.” Academic stress is translating into real-life issues for students and Dual Enrollment and AP courses not acknowledging this possibility are therefore pioneering this unfortunate outcome.  

Teachers of Dual Enrollment high school students are presumed to have the ability to teach and aid both high school and college students in Dual Enrollment courses when, in reality, there are many issues that can occur. One of the main concerns for high school students is having no high school or college professor that can understand their concerns since those teachers are not present in both domains of their educational endeavors. Allison Kanny states in his article Dual Enrollment Participation from the Student Perspective that, ” Students’ discussion of limited support received from the high school staff during their time at City College underscores the need for more purposeful and structured support systems to be implemented for dual Roman students

Although eligibility for these programs is measured based off of academics and GPA, there are no further evaluations conducted to conclude whether a student is emotionally, mentally, socially, or physically ready for advanced work. Particularly in the case of Dual Enrollment students will have to enter an entirely new place and atmosphere with their learned and oftentimes this goes unacknowledged. For instance, according to “High School Dual Enrollment Programs…’ written by Cecelia Speroni “To be eligible for Dual Enrollment in Florida, students are required to have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 and to demonstrate college readiness on the College Placement Test.” These eligibility requirements are often misleading and can cause students to enter programs that aren’t prepared in other ways besides academics.

Something that few realize about Dual Enrollment courses is that despite the college course being promoted and implemented by the high school it is not guaranteed that it won’t interfere with after-school and various other activities. As stated in ” AP vs Dual Enrollment….” by Imed Bouchrika,

“DE classes can be harder to attend. While there are those that offer these programs on their high school campuses and within regular school days, many programs offer a mixed situation where a class could have different locations depending on the day. It may even fall on hours after school or on a weekend. Even though there are financial aid and other resources allocated to these programs, it is almost sure that you have to spend on them yourself.” 

This unacknowledged interference can take a toll on a student in more ways than one. This can prevent them from joining after-school clubs or sports times, prevent them forming getting a job or internship, and can even minimize family and friend time. This can affect the student emotionally, socially, mentally, and physically. Above all many don’t see that academics alone does not determine the overall well-being of a student. Once this is acknowledged and implemented these programs can begin to be more beneficial for the entire student, not just their academics.

References

An NCPR working paper high school dual enrollment programs: Are we … – ed. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED527527.pdf 

AP vs. Dual Enrollment: The Pros & Cons of each program. Research.com. (2022, October 5). Retrieved November 21, 2022, from https://research.com/education/ap-vs-dual-enrollment 

Kanny, M.A. (2015), Dual Enrollment Participation From the Student Perspective. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2015: 59-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20133

Suldo, S. M., Shaunessy-Dedrick, E., Ferron, J., & Dedrick, R. F. (2018). Predictors of Success Among High School Students in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Programs. Gifted Child Quarterly, 62(4), 350–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986218758443

Venegas, K. (2022, July 12). Is increased access enough? Advanced Placement courses, quality, and success in low-income urban schools. Journal for the Education of the Gifted. Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://www.academia.edu/4414551/Is_Increased_Access_Enough_Advanced_Placement_Courses_Quality_and_Success_in_Low_Income_Urban_Schools?auto=citations&from=cover_page