Imagine this: course selection time is here again, and you’re excited that more classes will be available to choose from next year. Eagerly scrolling through the list of electives, it’s a great relief to find a class you’re interested in, but reading the description only to discover a long list of prerequisites quickly makes excitement disappear.
While prerequisites can help prepare students for advanced coursework, Algonquin should create more flexible pathways into certain classes instead of requiring every student to follow the same rigid sequence. Portfolio submissions, filling out a form similar to the one for class recommendation overrides, taking a test or getting a teacher recommendation are ways students can demonstrate their abilities and bypass prerequisites.
Right now, most advanced courses are only accessible through one specific path, but certain students may already be ready without the prerequisites. Some students learn independently, take outside courses or develop knowledge through personal interests and experience. Requiring students to sit through classes covering material they already know is unnecessary, discouraging and limits their opportunities. After all, school is supposed to be a place for learning and growth.
For example, AP Studio Art Drawing requires students to take three classes beforehand: an introductory art class like Drawing and Painting I or Digital Art, Drawing and Painting II or Art II and then Advanced Art, which means the AP is only open to juniors and seniors except for very rare exceptions. Someone who has been developing art skills since elementary school may not need to relearn those basics and may already be prepared for that AP rigor, or at least Advanced Art.
When students are required to follow long chains of prerequisites, they may not have room in their schedules to take all the specialized classes they are interested in. This has led some students to self-study AP courses or spend money on outside classes to remain competitive in the increasingly difficult college admissions process compared to students from nearby schools. At Hopkinton High School, for example, sophomores can take AP Biology, but at Algonquin, students take it senior year unless they double up on Chemistry and Physics or take no other electives junior year. If students are already searching for opportunities outside of school, we should consider making them more accessible within school instead.
There are also electives with few or no academic prerequisites that are still restricted by grade level. Astronomy only requires concurrent enrollment in or completion of Algebra II but is limited to grades 10-12, even though many freshmen take Algebra II. Ancient Greek History and Culture is another example, which has no prerequisites at all but is only open to juniors and seniors.
Certain prerequisites do ensure a certain maturity level, which many underclassmen may not yet have. However, there are always some mature underclassmen, so age should not be a hard limiting factor. Additionally, in most electives, especially the AP classes that have no prerequisites but are not open to freshmen (such as AP Business and Personal Finance), maturity is not an issue. In cases like these, age restrictions seem to be less about ensuring academic preparation than limiting access.
Of course, prerequisites exist for a reason. Teachers need students to keep up with class activities and discussions, and unprepared students cause additional stress. However, the same issue already happens with some students who override CP classes into Honors, and flexible pathways would not allow any unqualified students to join anyway, since entry would be judged on individual readiness.
In addition, if a student overreaches, the consequences mainly affect their own grades and GPA. Giving students the opportunity allows them to decide how much they are prepared to challenge themselves and take responsibility for their education. Even if students don’t feel comfortable with the class’s pacing, they have a drop period at the beginning of each semester to switch out of the class.
Although reviewing portfolios or tests creates extra work for teachers, since the goal of electives is to help students explore subjects that match their interests and abilities, creating flexible systems may be worth the additional effort. In return, teachers could be paid for the extra time or relieved from certain duties.
Alternate pathways would allow students to learn from classes that better suit them and that they are more interested in. Classes in high school are meant to help students pursue different types of opportunities later on, and electives are no exception. No students should lose those opportunities just because one system is assumed to work for everyone.
