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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are in the process of selecting classes for high school and looking for feedback on honors vs. regular classes at McLean. My child was not in AAP but has straight A’s at Longfellow and is in honors math already. Many friends have said that 9th grade is the easiest year so taking all four honors classes in primary subjects is doable regardless of whether child was in aap. And it’s easy to drop down in first month. Has anyone else had experience with this for a child not coming from aap? Some parents have told me that regular classes are disruptive and not challenging at all. So I’m torn, mainly on science.  Thank you for any feedback you have.[/quote]

I teach standard World 2 at another FCPS school and my classes are not disruptive at all.  We have a mix of kids and most of them are hardworking and polite.  Are there occasional disturbances?  of course. But that happens in honors level classes as well.   This may depend somewhat on the demographics of the school overall.  Since the beginning of the school year, I have had 5 students drop down from honors to standard level World 2.  I have also had a couple kids move up to honors based on my recommendation and talking to the student.  The main difference between the two is that there is much more writing in honors and not as much “handholding”. For some, the transition from middle to high school is difficult and they need more structure and help.  Others are just fine and handle without issue.  You know your child and what they can handle.  I don’t think not choosing all honors in 9th is going to penalize you in the future - yes, their GPA might not be as high, but there are many other things that go into getting into college.  I say this as a mom whose son just went through the process last year - he had a 4.0 unweighted, but “only” a 4.3 weighted partly because his school in APS didn’t offer honors classes, and also because he didn’t take every AP class he could possibly take.  He is currently an Echols scholar at UVA. [/quote]

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