August 2011 was filled with the cries of juniors who had just been informed of horrible, life-changing news: AP U.S. History would become a weighted class for the first time in its recent history. More precisely, a homework point would no longer be equal to a test point, and excellence on exams would become more vital than completing homework.
The public outcry by the class of 2013 was warranted. After all, last year’s juniors were indeed experiencing a more different grading scale than previous classes. However, as APUSH teacher Matt Torrens pointed out many times last year, the change was not nearly as drastic nor sadistic as many students made it out to be.
According to Torrens, while the grades were lower with the weighted system, it was a slight decrease and wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Upon entering junior year, many students had heard that the class would be overly simple, since turning in homework could make up for poor exam performance. Many of the same students would, however, agree that tests do offer a more accurate sense of a student’s knowledge than homework.
The truth is, the decision to make APUSH weighted was long overdue. The prior system may have been an easier version of the course, but if students evaluate the issue objectively, increasing the difficulty of a course does not necessarily make the class a worse or less productive experience.
Almost every academic course that students take in high school has a weighted system in which tests and quizzes are weighted more than homework. This again goes back to the general understanding that tests tell more about a student’s progress than homework.
When a class does not have a weighted system, a homework point is equal to a test point, which is equal to a participation point, which is equal to a point on the final exam. In a college-level course, this system simply provides a little too much breathing room for students; they intentionally slack off on studying for tests, because they can “make up” the points by doing their homework.
Especially in a class with such a massive curriculum, success on tests is a better indication that students are retaining the information than success in any other aspect of the class. Since the class now demands better performance on exams, students will absorb more of the content and thus have less to cram when finals and AP exams roll around.
AP classes, especially with the ultra-competitive academic environment at this school, should make students earn the extra point on their GPA. And the current weighted system simply does a better job of making each student do just that.
