All level changes must be made within the first 15 days of the trimester.

Every student has read this statement on the bottom of his or her new trimester
schedule. Students have 15 days to decide if a class is too hard or too easy.
Some kids know within the first 15 minutes; some need the full 15 days and
others are content with the level of their class.

It is no secret that many students believe honors classes can be too difficult, and
regular classes can be too simple. Tessa Cabreza, senior, shares her experience
with this, saying, I was struggling within the first week of AP Calculus and knew I
wasnt going to be able to keep up with it, so I dropped into regular Calculus and
was breezing through it.

On the other hand, some students have not noticed a difference when making a
level change. Allie Levin, sophomore, took grade-level Biology freshman year
and jumped up to Honors Chemistry this year. I thought moving up to an honors
science class was going to be difficult, but it wasnt as hard as I imagined, and
the work load was about the same, Levin said.

Anna Keller, junior, had a similar opinion when switching from grade-level World
Studies to Honors World Studies. I was questioning honors world studies, but I
was glad I moved up to the class because I found it to be more interesting and
interactive, Keller said.

However, whether students stretch themselves and take the honors course or do
not take any throughout high school, if they get the grades, they get the diploma
and they get into college. With no honors courses, a student may not be get into
Harvard, but odds are thats not the goal.

Brock Pasternak, senior, mainly took regular classes throughout high school,
challenging himself here and there with a few honors courses. I would rather
take a class that I know I wont have to kill myself to do well in than take one that
I know I would struggle in just because it looks good to a college, Pasternak
said.

Making a level change myself by transitioning from the honors math track to the
grade level one, I can validate firsthand that there is not a good balance between
the accelerated and regular classes (in the math courses at least). I struggled to
keep the grades I wanted in classes such as Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry and
Honors Geometry, but once I moved down to grade-level calculus, I found the
coursework easy to follow and easier to get an A.

When deciding what classes to take for the next school year, we can all hear Mr.
Bowers in our heads telling us to take a stretch class. For some, taking an AP
level course might be a stretch, while for others, regular classes can pose a
sufficient challenge. Whatever you choose to take, remember the difficulty of a

class is in the eye of the student, and that what is easy for you may be difficult for
someone else.