Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

To Accelerate Learning, Or to Equalize It?

August 09, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

To paraphrase the first sentence of your July 27, 2005, article “To Maintain Rigor, College Board to Audit All AP Courses,” as more high schools rush to offer Advanced Placement courses, the No Child Left Behind Act counteracts the effects. This federal law’s emphasis on remediation denies strong students access to challenging coursework.

AP courses prepare students for future success, can give them college credit, and may qualify them for honors programs with preferential course selection. All these factors facilitate graduation from college in four or five years.

The No Child Left Behind law is detrimental to college preparation. The two-part study of accelerated learning funded by the Templeton Foundation, “A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students,” shows that advanced-level coursework is being sacrificed as test-prep demands rise and school resources fall. According to my local paper, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio schools are eliminating AP and honors courses to focus their resources on students at risk of failing the state’s graduation test.

Though you report that the number of public schools offering AP courses rose slightly in 2004, how many will drop them in 2005? How many students take AP exams? Such testing is not mandatory because of the tests’ cost.

It seems that there is plenty of money for remediation, but no subsidy for the pursuit of excellence. Wouldn’t it be better if we provided public secondary schools with the resources for rigorous AP courses and supported public colleges? Then all our children would have the chance for success they deserve.

Betty Raskoff Kazmin

Retired Los Angeles Teacher

Willard, Ohio

A version of this article appeared in the August 10, 2005 edition of Education Week as To Accelerate Learning, Or to Equalize It?

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz Trump’s Surprise Freeze on School Funding—How Much Do You Know?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz What Lowers Teacher Turnover? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz Which State Is About to Pass a ‘Science of Reading’ Law? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz What is a Project 2025 Author Doing at the Education Department? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read