Enriched Classes: Should They be Weighted?

Students do work in a class

By Lizzy Boulos

Staying up till 2 am doing homework is something every enriched student is familiar with, but should these students get the same credit that honors and AP students get? 

Doing the same amount of work that honors classes get but getting the same recognition general classes get is frustrating for students in enriched classes.  So why don’t they get the same amount of recognition? 

Ms. Ventimiglia, an assistant principal, said “The Enriched designation came about as a way for students to denote on their transcripts that they took a more rigorous course level offered. Many years ago, there was no distinction externally if you were in general or enriched. The Enriched was added to the course level and now is reflected not only on the transcript but also in our college profile. It was not weighted because we have always had Honors and AP tracks that carried the higher weight.” 

For many this makes sense but there is still room for improvement and change in this. The honors classes are particularly hard to get into and are gatekept in a way that makes it so you can’t get in. 

Deanna Gaber, a junior also weighed in on the issue,  “I think it’s difficult because there isn’t enough consistency in the level of difficulty enriched teachers teach at so I know some are a lot harder than others which aren’t fair. So what I think might be better is for students who want to take a weighted more difficult class they should make the ability to take honors classes more accessible.” Students throughout all levels are struggling in their classes no matter the consistency of teaching. There are only two options no credit or credit and no in between, even though there are in between classes. 

Mr. Fleissner, English teacher had an opinion on this issue, “So, I think it is a complicated issue, because essentially yes I do think they should be weighted. But how much they should be is a trickier question, it is certainly more challenging than a regular class but not nearly as challenging as an honors class. And we want to incentives that but we don’t want to disincentives honors classes.” 

The recurring theme here is that honors classes are unattainable and should be available to more students and if you feel like it is too hard for your skill level you can drop. As students you know your limitations on schoolwork and how hard you have to work for each grade, so the enriched level should have weight but not as much as the honors classes. Enriched students are burning themselves out trying to meet the expectations of their classes and not being appreciated.