Allow All Into Honors Math

Unlike Advanced Placement classes, students must take a test if they want to get into the honors math system. Once they test in, they cannot be kicked out unless they get worse than a B in the class. This year, many students were angered that they didn’t make it into the system, and that their current class is excruciatingly easy for them. Only a few students managed to make it into the honors program for next year, after intensive studying to pass the placement test.

This, however, is exactly what angers people. How are we planning to close the achievement gap if the kids who aren’t already good at math don’t get a chance to challenge themselves if they want to? Why don’t people, like they do in AP classes, get to choose to challenge themselves rather than having a test do it for them? Being in an honors class myself, I only have resentment because of the people around me. There are quite a few kids in the class who hardly want to be in it, let alone try at all. There are also a lot of people who really want to be in it, but end up getting over 100 percent in the normal classes, because math comes easily to them. Why can’t the adults trust the kids?

All incoming freshmen took the test before the start of school. Students who couldn’t make it to the arranged testing time were told to come earlier, thus they were given a disadvantage even before they started, because they hadn’t had as much time to be taught the material on the test. For instance, the whole class from Tehiyah Day School was scheduled for a trip to Israel on the test date, and everybody from Tehiyah was forced to take it early. Despite the very good math program and exceptionally smart students from the class, only two made it into the system out of about fifteen to twenty students.
Someone could argue that anyone who passed the test and made it into honors probably put in enough work that they could deal with the homework load. Either way, whether students have to pass a test or not, people who don’t want homework won’t sign themselves up to be in honors, so this isn’t so much of an issue.

Still, there is the problem of “class inflation”. It’s the idea that the more people take a hard class, the easier it will be. The teacher will have to make accommodations for the ones falling behind, and the class, over time, will become easier. This is the fear of many honors math teachers, and is the reason they require a test to take the class.

However, those who are sick and tired of watching a few passionate people struggle in a class that’s too difficult for them, and some math-loving ones left unchallenged, disagree. This includes me, and I think that any student who wants to be in honors should be able to be in honors. This would make the class much more engaging and filled with people who want to be there.

The current system we have is simply inconvenient. So many people are taking a class that is too hard or too easy for them, and something has to be done. This is a situation where we just have to trust the kids. Less dedicated students aren’t going to sign themselves up, while the more interested ones will. People who haven’t received the greatest math education can choose to work harder. Just like in the real world, students and people should be able to choose what they do and what they learn.

Photos:

• Honors Math (Michaela Bathrick)