by Julia Platt

So we all know college is super expensive and prices are on the rise, right? But what if there was some way to take high school classes and get college credit for it? There are two obvious answers that come to mind: dual credit and advanced placement (AP) classes. Dual credit can sometimes be problematic; the curriculum is not standardized and many colleges will not accept dual credit readily. But what about AP classes? The curriculum is standardized, and most colleges tend to accept AP credit. Sounds great, right? Well, maybe not….or at least in not here in Helena. The Helena Public School District has a total of about six AP classes between both high schools, and there are a total of about 30 AP tests available. AP classes seem like the way to go, so why don’t the high schools in Helena have more of them? Aside from speculating that it might be deemed to expensive, I honestly don’t know the answer. But if it was important enough to our school district, I feel like they would make more of an effort, expensive or not.

AP tests exist in essentially every subject: foreign language (Chinese, Japanese, Latin, French, German, Spanish, and Spanish Literature), English (language and literature), science (biology, chemistry, environmental science, and physics), math (calculus and statistics), social sciences and history (psychology, human geography, art history, European history, Comp. government, U.S. government, U.S. history, and world history), and fine arts (studio art and music theory) as well as other subjects including computer science and economics. While taking an AP test isn’t free (it costs about $86), taking the class itself is free. And paying just under one hundred dollars to take an AP test is surely cheaper than paying for a college class. Even for the students who either can not afford to take AP tests or for those who who just plain don’t want to, AP classes are still an excellent way to prepare for college courses. Obviously it would be expensive, not to mention difficult, to find teachers who are able to teach all these subjects. But Helena has absolutely no AP math classes or science classes, and the only classes both high schools do have are English literature, English language, U.S. Government, and U.S. History. Capital High School also has European history. If Helena doesn’t have the time or money to have more than six AP classes, shouldn’t it at least be well rounded, with classes in different areas?

Another issue that makes me question whether AP classes really are too expensive is the fact that Bozeman, Missoula, Billings, and even Kalispell far surpass Helena in numbers of AP classes. And Kalispell has International Baccalaureate (IB) classes in addition to a large variety of AP classes. IB credit is not quite as widely accepted in the United States, but as the name indicates, it is an excellent option for students thinking about going to college in another country. Might I add that Kalispell is smaller than Helena and not the state capital. I am sure the Helena Public School District could find a way to work more AP classes into our course selection. And the excuse that students would not take AP classes if there were more, probably isn’t true. According to an article in the Missoulian, 16.6% of high school seniors in Montana took AP classes in 2009, which is much higher than the 13.1% half a decade ago. Nation wide, about 26.5% of high school seniors took AP classes. The few AP classes in Helena could account for the lower average, as well as students who go to small schools that don’t have AP classes. But just the small rise in numbers of students taking AP classes indicate that students would take AP classes if they were offered.

I am not saying that Helena needs to have every AP class taught at both high schools, but I am saying that many students would appreciate having the option of taking more AP classes, as well as having a greater selection with more variety. AP tests are a great way to get fairly solid college credit while still in high school, and, well, who wouldn’t want that?