| Schools in the state of Minnesota have been dealing with about 10 years of budget cuts.
At the high school we have a 6 period day. After talking to the principal about the lack of AP Science classes (last year when it was too late for our son, I'm afraid), I found that they feel the 55 minutes allotted to each class is simply not enough to cover the amount of curriculum and lab work in an AP science program. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I was told.
The counselors knew of our son's interests in his freshman year, yet they didn't tell him that he should plan on seeking an AP class outside of school. Maybe this is because they receive $ based on the students they have in class. They might have just received 5/6 of the pupil funding for him instead of the whole.
Plus, this all feeds into a frenzy of parents continuing to buy an edge for their kids which we personally feel is disrespectful to the vast majority of children who don't have the money or resources to obtain these "extras."
My personal feeling is that the "ivies" are making some bad choices in failing to level the playing field and sift out some of these advantages parents are buying their students. |