AP Classes Only Help So Much

Ferenstein, Gregory and Hershbein, Brad. “How important are high school courses to college
performance? Less than you might think.” Brookings, 20 July. 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2016/07/20/how-important-are-high-school-courses-to-college-performance-less-than-you-might-think/
Poiner, Jessica. Comment on “How important are high school courses to college performance?
Less than you might think.” Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 19 Sept. 2016, https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/do-high-school-courses-prepare-kids-college

Jessica Poiner, in the commentary “Do High School Courses Prepare Kids for College?” On the website Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Poiner comments on an article titled “How Important are High School Courses to College Performance? Less than you Might Think.” Poiner discusses if high school courses affect college performance in academics. Poiner goes on to talk about whether high school courses affect college performance and if taking AP classes help to raise overall performance. The author explains how the article from the Brookings discusses information and facts about this topic. The article titled “How Important are High School Courses to College Performance? Less than you Might Think.” discusses how community college systems reported having an average of 50% of students needing remedial classes in the subjects English and Math. Poiner goes on to discuss more information about Brookings findings. The author Poiner constructs the evidence to support Brookings evidence. Evidence of the Brookings article shows that taking AP classes do not have a significant impact on overall college course success. Both Poiner and Brookings point out how high school education does not focus enough on critical thinking, which is an essential part of college academics. The Brookings article further explains how statistics show that states who increased AP classes between 1996 and 2007 show large declines in passing rates. Poiner supports the explanation and analysis of the Brookings article by showing evidence, statistics, and opinions of the Brookings article. Poiner shows the readers what the articles components are and discusses them with detail. The topic of this article is how taking AP classes do not have any significant enhancements over college courses. With the subtopic of how high school does not have enough of critical thinking in academics. Poiner created this article in order to call attention to the Brookings main points and to build on the evidence and to inform the readers of the issues of high school education. The main points of the article being the rates at which students need remedial classes and how AP classes are doing less than what you would think to prepare students.

This meme supports the argument of how high school students are unprepared for college. In this commentary cited below, Poiner explains how the Brookings article discusses how even taking AP classes only does so much to prepare students for college level courses. In the article and commentary, they both discuss with statistics how taking AP classes does not automatically boost success in college classes. Both the article and commentary also show how some states that forced more AP classes had the opposite affect and had fewer passing rates.