To the editor:

As an educational consultant, focused on helping students navigate college admissions for the last 16 years, I have had a front row seat in observing how both conceptual and honors classes benefit students. Watching Barrington High School radically de-level courses, I urge parents and taxpayers to consider some key factors before it is too late.

First, what message are we sending students who are strong in English and history by de-leveling only humanities courses? You are not as worthy of investment as your STEM-oriented peers? 

Second, I have worked with many neuro-diverse BHS students who may not have been successful in all college-prep classes. Courses like Conceptual Physics were the saviors that helped them learn at a pace that felt right and achieve grades they could be proud of. All went on to 4-year colleges. What happens to those students now? Will a D or F hurt their chances for college admissions? How will their stress levels be affected in de-leveled classes?

And finally, I have interacted with many students in BHS honors classes. They provided the building blocks for freshmen and sophomores to succeed in AP courses. How will that gap be bridged? And for juniors and seniors, honors classes offered a challenging environment with less stress than AP courses. Now I see upperclassmen who would have chosen a mix of honors and AP courses, overloading with AP courses for next year, feeling that they will not be competitive in college admissions taking de-leveled classes. And while colleges say that they do not penalize applicants if higher-level classes are not available, the reality is that BHS kids will be competing against students from all the other high-achieving, suburban, public high schools in the northeast who have honors options. Meanwhile, BHS administrators are not addressing the fact that many moderately to highly competitive colleges recalculate high school GPAs in the admissions process, multiplying AP and honors classes by 1.25. Many universities then make first round cuts based on that number, particularly in the new era of SAT/ACT-optional admissions. Moving forward, BHS kids will be at a disadvantage without honors humanities classes to boost that GPA calculation.  

The bottom line is that Barrington High School is putting a lot at risk for students who need both conceptual and honors classes on their path to college. What was needed to promote equity and help the small number of struggling students at BHS, likely required a few wrenches to fix. Instead, BHS administrators have brought a bulldozer to remedy the problem. Before they put the future of students at risk for years to come, they owe the taxpayers of Barrington unbiased research from similar school systems that have implemented these radical changes. Without that, the town is gambling with what has been their crown jewel for so long: a high achieving, top-ranked, public high school. 

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed.

Providence

Cristiana Quinn is College Admission Advisors, LLC founder.