Well, if nothing at the HS is rigorous, yes the student is supposed to take initiatives and look for challenging coursework elsewhere. They’re not supposed to be content in an environment where Algebra2 is a high math attainment, foreign language and science are afterthoughts, and the average ACT is 17.
Self studying for AP exams doesn’t count for course rigor. It can SUPPLEMENT course rigor but it doesn’t replace it.
Johns Hopkins is expensive. DE/RunningStart/PSEO is free. For students in lower-performing, poor, and/or rural districts where most students do not attend 4-year colleges postgraduation and where classes are geared toward another category of students, DE is the only way to demonstrate they’re ready for college work.
In addition, if they hope to apply to top programs and/or want to qualify for Questbridge, yes, having college courses will be a plus.
This does NOT apply to high schools that offer 30 AP courses - at these, the problem is the opposite, making the students slow down and not use the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to APs.
@rhandco: The situation at your college is not the norm,.
Some colleges accept NEITHER AP NOR DE credits, because their classes are more advanced than those (ie., HYPSM etc), some only accept a limited number of either one (ie., Tufts, SLACs), some (such as most public universities) accept DE from instate colleges very easily and may balk at OOS DE credit. Few universites accept “college courses taken at a high school” as equivalent to college courses.