<p>An open AP policy has served our high school pretty well – the counselors discourage freshman from taking any APs, but usually a few sign up for them anyway. Also, we have block scheduling, so any prerequisite is linked to the AP class, i.e. Honors Biology must be taken with AP Biology for a full year, two-semester sequence. With only 4 periods in a day, it limits the number of AP classes a student can take in a year. </p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone at our school being turned down for an AP class. Students who get in over their head in a class are often given the option to drop down to the regular class part way through the semester. However, the decision is up to the student, rather than the school. It seems to work. Our overall pass rate is in the mid-80s. Sure its not as high as it would be if the school excluded the more middle of the road students, but I think the benefits of letting these kids challenge themselves is worth it.</p>