Does Afro make the case for advanced class entrance tests?

Junior year is one of the most important years in a student’s high school experience. It is also when kids tend to take more AP classes. History is one of those classes that students are required to take every year if they want to graduate. Now, juniors who want to take an AP history class have the option to take either AP US History (APUSH) or Honors Afrocentric US History and English (Afro). Some kids prefer to take Afro, not because they find the topic of the class interesting, but because it is much easier than APUSH, according to past and present students. Both Afro History and APUSH are taught by Kevin Batchelor, with Michelle Lew teaching Afro Literature.

There has been no required entrance test to take APUSH for the past two years, so any junior can take the course. Meanwhile, for Afro, students must read a short passage and write a paragraph analyzing it. They’re graded based on their writing and how well they understood the passage. Last year, around 100 students, including myself, got into the class, with three periods for Afro. However, this year, only 65 students got into the class, with just two periods of Afro. The reasoning for this change was that fewer students qualified for the college-level, discussion-based class.

An example of this would be my brother; he got into the class, but once he realized how much work and time he would have to put in, he dropped. I was one of the kids whom Batchelor had personally convinced to take the class, because of what I would be able to learn, and so I took the class. To my surprise, a group of students there seemed to have no interest in the class and would sit in a corner seat on their phones or talking to friends. 

With a class like Afro, where discussion and the students’ interests progress the class, this group of kids sometimes made it difficult to do so. I was partnered with a lot of kids, mainly in Afro Literature, who never spoke a word or spoke very little when having discussions about a book or whatever topic the class was on. Afro and all its elements require hard work and a passion to learn this particular history. 

I believe that having a test for any AP class is a good idea because the classes usually have limited space for students. A test allows those who really care about the subject an opportunity to learn, not just earning the AP credits. 

So, the question that arises is, do you meet the qualifications and the passion level to enter this class? Find out when you apply for Afro.