Does your high school do this?

[gingersmom]

Our public high school has different "tracks" that students are assigned to.

 

There is AP, Accelerated, College Prep A and College Prep B.

 

I never knew schools did anything like this. When I was in public/private school all students were on the same track (they assumed you were college bound) and the only opportunity was for AP classes.

 

My daughter has a ton of friends in public school and they are all announcing on Facebook what track they are on.

 

All I could think of was how awful you would feel if they put you on the lowest track.

 

I told my daughter to go on Facebook and announce she was placed in all AP/accelerated classes. :D

[Wheres Toto]

My oldest daughter's school does this but it's not set in stone.

 

The regular track is mostly for kids who are not interested in college and many of them are attending the vocational/technical school for part of the day.

 

The college track is basic level courses but includes the usual required number of sciences, foreign languages, etc. needed in order to get in to most colleges.

 

The honors track and AP track overlap a lot since there aren't AP classes at all levels for all subjects. It is possible to be in a mix of tracks though - my dd is taking AP Biology, Honors Latin 3 and Honors English 3 next year but everything else - Pre-Calc, Government, etc. are regular (college prep) courses. AP and Honors courses are only at the recommendation of your previous teachers.

 

Other than as an incoming freshman they didn't really emphasize the tracks other than to mention that it was hard to get on to the Honors track if you didn't start there (but this is the first year my dd is taking the Honors/AP courses so evidently there are exceptions). I have never heard any of her classmates refer to what track they are on - they may discuss individual classes though (and what teachers to avoid).

[Murphy101]

Yeah. They did when I was in school too.:glare:

 

Yet another awesome reason to home school high school.

[nono]

I went to a Catholic high school. We had five tracks for most subjects: AP, and 1-4. I think Religion only had two tracks. We were tracked for each subject. So, I had one class in which I was AP, the rest track 1. Another friend in the same AP class was in track 3 for several other classes.

 

Since I got releveled out of my AP class my Senior year, I know the "key" for our school at the time was for low C grade performers to step down one track. High A performers were generally tracked up one level. It was designed to provide a challenging but rewarding environment for all. I don't think anyone performing poorly in track 4 would agree.

[AngelaNYC]

Dd's high school does this. They assume that all of the kids will go on to college (and more than 95% of graduates do) - and there's a 98% graduation rate. They have a main track (kids get a Regents diploma), an Honors track, and AP classes aren't taken until Junior year (the school offers 14 different AP classes).

 

My daughter is starting high school in September after 5 years of homeschooling. She has no interest in starting out with the Honors track and checked off the box for her not to be considered for it this year. She's nervous enough about going into the unknown - no sense it being an accelerated unknown, lol. She might consider it for subsequent years, though.

[LibraryLover]

Our local HS has all of those levels, but kids can mix them up if they want. I've known student friends of my children who have taken Standard math, Honors Language, and AP History along with AP art and Honors Science or whatnot. You can take whatever classes you think you can manage. If a student has only ever taken taken standard levels but wants to try an AP in a high -interest area, the student will need parental and guidance office sign-offs. I've never known anyone denied the chance to challenge themselves. There is no 'tracking'.

[Perry]

Our local HS has all of those levels, but kids can mix them up if they want. I've known student friends of my children who have taken Standard math, Honors Language, and AP History along with AP art and Honors Science or whatnot. You can take whatever classes you think you can manage. If a student has only ever taken taken standard levels but wants to try an AP in a high -interest area, the student will need parental and guidance office sign-offs. I've never known anyone denied the chance to challenge themselves. There is no 'tracking'.

This is what ours does too.

[Mejane]

I have no problem with this as long as the student is the one who chooses his/her track. There are many kids with no plans for college who should have the option of choosing an easier track. This would also remove the stigma, imo.

[Hannah C.]

My high school had (and has) tracks - AP, honors/pre-AP which usually preceded AP, and regular. However, they were not something kids were arbitrarily assigned to. Parents could override any placement made by teachers/counselors - if the teacher refused to sign off on an AP class, the parents could put the kid in it anyway. Also, students often mixed up different level classes. For instance, I took AP English and social studies classes whenever I had the chance, but I never took anything beyond honors math/science.

 

Once you were in an honors or AP class you pretty much knew everyone else who was in honors/AP classes. This is in a school of 3000+ students. It has troubled me that there wasn't more demand for the advanced classes.

[Peri]

Well at least those tacks are encouraging. When I went to high school it was remedial, regular, honors, and AP.

[MBM]

I am so grateful our schools offer different levels. If not, I would absolutely be homeschooling. (We afterschool.)

 

Our high school has the following levels based on a test taken in eighth grade, and teacher and parent recommendations:

 

AP -- teacher must recommend; available to juniors on up with a few exceptional sophomores

Accelerated

Advanced

College Prep

 

A student may opt in or out of almost any class -- I think math and some independent study science classes might be exceptions; however, if opting to move up, the student and guardians must sign a waiver that states the student is choosing a class that might not be a good fit.

 

People often focus on the students who are struggling, but keep in mind that others want challenge and aren't finding it in classes that group all abilities together. For them, school is a huge bore because classes don't move at a good pace or provide challenging work. Offering classes with different levels of rigor is a good solution.

[MtnTeaching]

Our local high school even throws in the Pre IB and IB program along with all the AP, Advanced and College Prep tracks.

 

I have a friend who's son is in the Advanced classes and he told me that the school definitely puts a strong emphasis on the prestige of their IB program to the deteriment of the other levels. He said he feels his son is getting the "short end of the stick" for not chosing the IB program and for choosing to play team sports. (He said it would be very hard for his son to do both. The IB program is intensive, time-consuming and burns a lot of these kids out before they even get to college.)

 

This is supposed to be a very good high school, one of the best in the state, but my son (8th) has already told me he has no interest in attending. Now, I'm starting to get nervous about high school - I thought I was over that feeling a long time ago!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, I knew they had those tracks. A high school girl I tutored (who was way behind) was flat out told by her high school counselor that she would never rise above the vocational track. When the counselor found out that I was teaching this girl Algebra (on her own time with their own money, btw), the counselor called me to yell at me for giving the girl hope that she could rise above what the experts had determined she could do.

[AngelaNYC]

Our local HS has all of those levels, but kids can mix them up if they want. I've known student friends of my children who have taken Standard math, Honors Language, and AP History along with AP art and Honors Science or whatnot. You can take whatever classes you think you can manage. If a student has only ever taken taken standard levels but wants to try an AP in a high -interest area, the student will need parental and guidance office sign-offs. I've never known anyone denied the chance to challenge themselves. There is no 'tracking'.

 

Yes, this is how it's done at dd's school. So I guess it's not really a "track", just available levels based on what you choose and get signed off for.

[Elisa]

My daughter's private high school has two tracks -- college prep and honors. Beginning in the sophomore year, you can take AP classes. It's a small school so not that many AP classes are offered. Qualification for honors and AP is based on grades and standardized scores. The classes are harder, of course, and not all kids who qualify choose to take them.

[runamuk]

My daughter's high school had tracks, too: vocational, college prep, and university. Prior to starting their junior year, the student had to indicate which track they would be taking.

 

My high school didn't have tracks (beyond AP classes, that is) but the school system did have magnet schools. We could attend high school based on our interests (criminal justice, computers science, art, etc).

[Ellie]

This was common when I was in high school, and I graduated in 1969. :)

[SproutMamaK]

Wow, my high school had none of those things. Just regular classes with everyone.

[mommaduck]

The Catholic highschool here does this. There are four tracks (general, academic, honors, and advanced placement). You can be on one track for one class and another track for another. You can also change tracks. It's all based on how well you do in that subject.

[LizzyBee]

We had tracks when I was in high school, but we chose which track we wanted. The guidance counselor sometimes made kids move from general to college prep classes if he thought they were misplaced, and I suppose he may have moved kids in the other direction if their prior grades didn't support the classes they signed up for.

 

At my dd's high school, the entire school is college prep. But there are standard, honors, and AP classes. Each year, the teachers make recommendations for the next year's classes. If the student or parent disagree, they can request a different class, but I have found the teachers' recommendations to be in line with what I think my daughter is capable of.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin's new school has different streams for maths, but everything else is done all together. The assumption is that everyone will do GCSE exams and then move on to the International Baccalaureate. Over time, they see if there are some students who need easier options, then customise for the individual.

 

Laura

[Mom0012]

Our public high school has different "tracks" that students are assigned to.

 

There is AP, Accelerated, College Prep A and College Prep B.

 

I never knew schools did anything like this. When I was in public/private school all students were on the same track (they assumed you were college bound) and the only opportunity was for AP classes.

 

My daughter has a ton of friends in public school and they are all announcing on Facebook what track they are on.

 

All I could think of was how awful you would feel if they put you on the lowest track.

 

I told my daughter to go on Facebook and announce she was placed in all AP/accelerated classes. :D

 

 

It sounds like it is still assumed that everyone is on a college track, so I wonder why they make the distinctions?

 

Lisa

[mom31257]

This topic is one that means a lot to me. It sounds like that school has kids getting ready for Ivy League schools, universities, or community college. Our high school had different tracks, which I thought was great. We had college-prep or vocational. We offered classes in drafting, secretarial skills, and even cosmetology. The vocational kids got to go out and work their senior year, like apprenticeships, and get paid plus receive credit.

 

My dh teaches in public high school right now. There is a huge push with requirements for all kids to be ready to go to college. He teaches in a school with a lot of poor minorities, and by the time they get to that level, some could not be ready to go to college. They end up dropping out because they are having to take 4 maths, 4 sciences, foreign language, etc. I think those kids could use life skills a lot more than college prep classes.

 

I wish we had different kinds of high schools so that kids could get really prepared for what they are going to do. The problem is that kids would be expected to be much more mature at 13 or 14 to be making those kind of life decisions. We don't really expect that in this country. If too many minorities ended up in vocational schools, it would be shut down. I suspect that is some of why fewer schools are having vocational programs.

 

Some kids are not "book smart", but make excellent mechanics, electricians, etc. I think we need to focus on those kids as well.

[Hunter's Moon]

My PS is confusing. They switched everything around. Before, kids were allowed to take AP in 10th grade. Now, they make them wait until 11th, and even then they only allow them one- English. Sometimes Science is offered as AP in 11th, but that is in addition to their Chem. course.

 

There is an AP, Honors, and a College Prep course. The CP track is remedial though. They changed the name to encourage the students.

[PiCO]

Our public high school has different "tracks" that students are assigned to.

 

There is AP, Accelerated, College Prep A and College Prep B.

 

All I could think of was how awful you would feel if they put you on the lowest track.

 

Dd's school has tracks also- I'm not sure what the lowest track is called. Above that are College Prep, Honors, AP, and IB. IB is the only one that's all-or-nothing, the others are mix and match.

 

My dd did Pre-IB her first two years, but is not continuing in IB- so we have talked to a lot of students and parents about the other levels. Word on the street is to only take AP if you want to take the test to get college credit, because most of the AP teachers teach to the test. If you want an interesting class where you will learn a lot, take the CP classes. (Honors are mostly for Freshmen and Sophomores, because AP is not available to them.)

 

With the AP classes, you have to know who is teaching. Evidently the AP Government and AP Biology classes are excellent at dd's school, AP English not worth the extra work.

 

So dd is taking AP Government this year, and AP Bio and Calculus next year. She's staying with CP for the rest of her classes.

[Penelope]

If you read about the history of American education, this is something that has been around in high schools for 100 years, even in middle school in some cases.

 

When I went to school we were tracked starting in junior high. For high school there were levels 1-5. Level 1-2 was vocational, 3 was regular, four-Five was honors and college bound. We could take AP classes if we were in the honors track, with some prerequisites. There didn't seem to be as many AP classes back then as some schools have now.

[FairProspects]

Yup, we were tracked by 4th grade, with some additional people added when we mixed up the schools for middle school in 6th. By the time we all entered high school in 9th, it was very difficult if not close to impossible to jump from the lowest track to the highest because of how much work would have been missed.

[Tap]

Not that I am aware of. When I registered ds for 10th grade at a public school, I just enrolled him in all the classes I could that were Pre-Ap (honors). There was no mention of what track he would be on. I know several other kids who switched in and out of AP classes at will. We don't plan to take AP exams in all of the classes he is taking, I just wanted his classes to be in the honors range.

 

 

There is an IB highschool in our area. I know there is more of a track for them or the kids who are partial IB.