<p>MidwestMom, I have mixed feelings about this. I respect the thinking behind Boston Latin’s relatively restrictive policy, but it does sometimes result in kids being discouraged from taking APs when they might do very well in them. In fact I think this happened to my son, who was steered away from taking any APs in his junior year after he struggled in sophomore year. In his case, his struggles had to do with organizational issues that were going to bite him in any class, regardless of how challenging the material was. Sure enough, this past year he took 3 APs and did just fine in them. In a school with a less restrictive policy he would probably have taken an AP or two in junior year, done just as well as he did in the non-AP classes, and finished with a GPA a couple of tenths of a point higher, which would have opened up more college options. C’est la vie.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I do think it’s irresponsible to let students take as many APs as they want, as early as they want, and let it be their problem if they flounder. I think a certain amount of gatekeeping is appropriate. It’s a fine line. What’s really required to get it right is the kind of sophisticated advising, attuned to the individual student’s abilities, that’s not a practical possibility at most public schools because of staffing limitations. (Sadly, insatiability only gets you so far.)</p>