Vail's rigorous coursework changes spark debate

A few parents recently took to social media and VUSD governing board meetings to argue that AP classes have more value than other rigorous coursework.

It’s not that simple, said Vail’s deputy superintendent Debbie Penn. Penn has headed teaching and learning at the district since 2006.

“There’s no one right and perfect pathway from high school to college,” Penn said. “Each college really makes their own decision about how they handle student records, whether that is AP credits and whether they accept them or not, whether they accept dual enrollment or not.”

An admissions consultant says most colleges have a preference.

“Overwhelmingly, institutions prefer AP courses over dual enrollment, especially when you’re talking about the higher-level institutions,” said Rod Lembvem, college admissions consultant with IvyWise. “One of the reasons why AP starts to stand out over dual enrollment is just the scope of recognition that is involved.”

Lembvem is also a former associate admissions director at Case Western Reserve University.

“There’s this standardized element to it. Colleges feel like they have a better grasp on what it means to get a five in an exam, for example, than for if you’re bringing in dual enrollment credits.”

In terms of admissions competitiveness, however, it’s more about taking advantage of what a school offers, he added.

“If tomorrow, you find out that calculus is no longer offered as AP level at your high school, institutions won’t penalize you for that, because you don’t have access to that course,” Lembvem said. “They’re looking at your profile and thinking about how competitive you are within the context of the specific academic and extracurricular opportunities that you’ve been exposed to or that are in your environment.”

Currently, Vail’s high schools have 24 AP courses. 1,361 students take advantage of these courses, but in the end, it’s about the final AP exam.

“One of the main goals of taking AP classes is being able to score high enough so that you can get a score that will get you credit (at an institution),” Lembvem explained. “What is considered a high enough score differs by institution. Broadly, if you get a three to a five, then typically you’ll get credit at lots of institutions. The more elite institutions the more you’ll find that they typically only take fours and fives, and in some cases only fives.”

According to VUSD, last year 1,118 AP tests were taken by 739 students out of more than 4,500 high school students in the district. Sixteen percent of those students took an AP test.

Last year, of the 1,118 AP final exams taken at Vail, 648 had a passing score .

Final AP exams can be taken without completing an AP course. Nationally, more and more students are taking that route, Lembvem said, including taking a self-paced AP test preparation course outside of school .

For some students, the choice between AP coursework and dual-enrollment classes, which give credit at both the student’s high school and an institution of higher learning.

In 2020, Andrada Polytechnic High School chemistry teacher Tiffany Newton taught an AP chemistry class. Eventually, the school transitioned to a dual-credit chemistry class.

“I have found, since switching to dual enrollment, that kids who might have shied away from an AP course are more likely to take dual enrollment courses, and they do well,” Newton said. “I think that comes down to their potential college credit from an AP course comes down to a single test.”

Then comes the question of equity.

Many high schools require students to be pre-approved to enroll in an AP class. Additionally, AP final exams have a cost attached: $98 per test as of 2024, charged by College Board, which administers AP courses and exams. Late registration fees can tack on additional charges from College Board.

Vail has adjusted. In 2013, the district dropped a requirement that students get into AP courses via teacher recommendation, Penn said.

In 2016, the district received an award from College Board for “increasing the number of students who participate, increasing the diversity of the students who participate and increasing our students who had a three or higher on the assessment,” Penn said, in large part resulting from the school’s revised policy.

Some school districts have financial assistance available to qualifying students taking AP final exams, including Tucson Unified School District and Sahuarita Unified School District.

Penn said she was unsure if VUSD offers financial assistance, but there is help from College Board, which administers AP courses and exams. Lembvem said financial help is often based on free-and-reduced lunch qualification status, which is one way the U.S. government measures poverty in school districts.

However, dual-credit coursework at Vail is free to students and families.

Penn said that last year, VUSD awarded 2,659 dual enrollment credits and 1,344 Pima Community College concurrent enrollment credits.

Like AP coursework, dual-enrollment courses have value, but in different arenas.

Lembvem said that dual enrollment often means more choices in coursework and is often best for more career-minded students.

Some states, like Ohio, have an in-state guarantee for dual credit acceptance, Lembvem said.

“There’s very much that scenario where if you’re looking to attend a state institution, your dual enrollment credits might be more valuable.” This does not necessarily apply to private colleges or universities, he added.

Vail offers 16 dual-credit courses, Penn said. The district has 674 students in Pima County dual enrollment core classes. Pima career and technical education, University of Arizona and Arizona State University numbers were not available in time for publication.

The district also has an early college program, partnering with Pima Community College.

Most of the student participants will leave high school with a full year of college under their belt.

“We’ve graduated 49 students through that program last year. We have about 97 who are interested in taking it for this coming year,” Penn said. “The students who are leaving us through that early college program with that year of college, it’s come at no cost to the family.”

Newton said, “I’m finding more and more students who thought that AP might be out of their reach are taking dual enrollment chemistry, because it’s free. They get the credit either way. I think maybe it’s less intimidating and a more welcoming and positive experience.”

She said she has about 50 students enrolled in her dual-credit chemistry course.

Penn explained that dual-credit instructors must fit certain criterion to teach at the college level.

“For example, Pima Community College will say, your teachers must have this level of education and this level of training and then they are allowed to teach the dual enrollment courses.”

Newton has a master’s degree in chemistry. She said there is another VUSD high school teacher with a PhD in biology, which is another one of VUSD’s dual-credit offerings.

Vail’s dual-credit and AP coursework menu is based on student and parent demand, Penn said.

“We’re paying close attention to what our parents are asking for. We can’t do everything. We’re responding to what we’re hearing from the majority of our parents.”

Still, there is a balance, tipped by the matter of what resources the district has.

“If there were 40 kids, and 20 of them wanted dual enrollment and 20 of them wanted AP, we would find a way to offer that balance in what parents are asking for,” Penn said.

If a student in the district wants to take an AP course not offered at their home high school, they can take the course at another Vail high school, if it is offered, Penn said. The class is taken at “zero hour,” or a period right before the regular school day, Newton said. Students can be bused to these locations.

Penn said of the recent AP and dual-credit adjustments, “Because the numbers don’t warrant the allocation of additional resources we’re using, we’re using our resources to the best of our ability to meet the needs of the majority of our students.”

Newton is a parent to one of those students. Her daughter is a junior at Vail’s Empire High School.

“She has really set her sights on some really big colleges,” Newton said. “She has been taking AP classes. She was looking at it and seeing that, in order to get the calculus credit at University of Michigan, she would have to get a five on her AP exam. So no matter how much you understand calculus, it comes down to that one test. Either she gets a perfect score she doesn’t.”

Newton’s daughter is also enrolled in Vail’s early college program.

“I wish my daughter’s school had more dual credit offerings,” Newton said. “To know that she’s taking these classes and she’s working so hard and she in the end may not actually get credit … it all comes down to one day, one test.”

What matters is the menu, Lembvem said. “Overall, if you’re thinking about it from a perspective of college admissions, it shouldn’t matter that much, because at the end of the day colleges are evaluating you within the context of the opportunities that are offered to you.”

Vail Unified School District wants as diverse a menu as possible with something for every Vail high school student’s appetite, Penn said.

“We view that our role is to make sure that we’re providing open doors for students as they leave their high school years and move forward. We don’t know where; we want to make sure that they have an open door.”