Setting standards: disparities between honors courses

In 9th grade, I took Honors English 9 and Honors Civics 9. Sophomore year, I took Honors Biology and Honors Perspectives in American Literature (HPAL). Junior year, I took Honors Global Literature.

What did all of these classes have in common beyond their “honors” titles? Absolutely nothing.

To me, “honors” implies a faster-paced learning environment, motivated students, and a heavier workload than their non-honors counterparts – a sort of stepping-stone into Advanced Placement (AP) or college courses.

My ninth grade honors courses did a good job of preparing me for high school. Both moved at a faster pace than my other classes and had a heavier workload. So when I signed up for sophomore classes, I knew I wanted to continue to challenge myself in both English and Social Studies by taking HPAL and AP U.S. History (APUSH).

Though I was a bit uncertain as to whether or not I was ready for the intimidating “AP” label, I decided it couldn’t be that much harder than an honors class.

And it wasn’t. Sophomore year, I had both HPAL and APUSH during first semester. Both classes were equally challenging, and if anything, I often had a heavier workload in the honors course than in the AP.

In addition, I took Honors Biology. I didn’t have a choice. At HHS, all sophomores are required to take an honors science.

“There’s some controversies, and there always has been in the building – is it truly honors? Is it truly not? Because it’s offered completely different from other things,” said Mr. John Sammler, Science.

I was a little nervous about Honors Biology, as science has never been one of my favorite subjects. But it turned out I had nothing to worry about. Honors Biology rarely gave out homework, and was not nearly as hard as either HPAL or APUSH.

“I would think an honors course should have homework a few times a week, but too much homework is counterproductive,” Sammler said. “There should be an expectation of students doing assignments outside the class, some independent learning regularly, more learning at a faster pace compared to regular, and then covering more material than what a regular course is. A lot of times a regular course is based off of a state standard, so [an honors course] goes well in-depth beyond that.”

Can an honors class maintain the same rigor if it’s required?

Part of what makes honors classes rigorous is the fact that students chose to take the class. Everyone has agreed to the added challenge.

Anne Arundel County in Maryland tried to incorporate an honors-for-all plan in 2011, but the plan resulted in frustrated students and parents. Students who had been used to an honors curriculum found that, in order to facilitate students who were not used to honors courses, classes were becoming far too easy.

However, requiring honors courses is done with good intention, as most colleges do state course rigor as one of their most important admissions requirements.

All of my experiences with honors courses have been good ones, but I can’t help but be a bit confused by the label. I know “honors” is somewhere in-between standard and AP courses, but it seems to vary greatly depending on the course.

I don’t think the class offerings at HHS need to be any harder, any easier, or really any different at all. I’m just looking for clarification.