As teachers sign their names on a piece of paper, few realize that their choice of classes guide the next four years of their life. You may have picked the higher level classes because you wanted to impress your friends, your parents forced you, or you feel that you are knowledgeable enough to handle it. Regardless of the reason, you just set yourself up for the rigor of the honors track. Once you settle into your classes for high school, it is very hard to get off the path you have chosen.

Taking advanced courses starts in junior high and does not have the full effect until the first couple weeks of high school. Many students coming into their freshman year believe that they can handle the upcoming responsibility simply because they excelled in junior high, but many underestimate this jump.

In junior high, teachers hold their students’ hands the whole way through. When these students reach high school they are on their own; stranded on an island with directions but a lot less guidance on what to choose. Honors courses are more rigorous in high school, there is more work, more responsibility, and more in-depth thinking. Many students drop out of the honors track within the first couple weeks of high school because they underestimate these responsibilities. Once the student has made it through their freshman year, the questioning of required responsibilities is over. Students now know what exactly is expected of them, but the workload gets harder and the thinking is now more in-depth. They have the opportunity of advanced placement, honors, or on-level classes now.

The teacher’s signature on the paper at the very beginning is the only thing required to get into the honors track. There should be a prerequisite test for these classes which should test the knowledge of the student rather than what the teacher has seen in the previous year. The expectations and responsibilities are raised, the junior high teachers are fully aware of the struggles that lay ahead for the student. Why should they hold a student’s future in the palm of their hands? A pre-honors or pre-AP test could thoroughly predict whether or not that student has the knowledge base and work ethic to achieve success and whether or not they can handle the pressure and workload of these higher level classes.

People’s personalities and work ethics change greatly over the course of a year. Judging a student on their previous years is not an accurate assessment of what they are capable of doing in the future. A test that determines whether students can handle the course is more realistic than letting them waltz into classes for which they are not prepared.