In the last two years, Kingwood Park has slowly transitioned into a school focused on College, Career and Military Readiness – a Texas-created initiative to prepare students for life after high school. The state has tied funding and school ratings into CCMR success rates.

The new focus isn’t necessarily a bad idea. However, the three core targets are not being equally prioritized. There is a disproportionate amount focused on “career,” leaving those college-focused students feeling like an afterthought. Kingwood Park needs to continue to offer an array of advanced classes, making college-bound students more competitive in the college admissions process.

In the last year, Kingwood Park has removed four Advanced Placement courses – AP Biology, AP Precalculus, AP Government and AP Economics. All four of these courses are being replaced with an alternative college-level option. All college-level courses are not created equal though. Along with the International Baccalaureate programme (only offered at Humble High School in Humble ISD), AP test scores are the most accepted way to earn college credits from universities around the United States. Depending on the students’ AP test scores, universities provide credit hours, which often cover a whole year of the introductory level courses. This allows some students to start their college journey with a head start.

On the contrary, OnRamps courses have a difficult time transferring credits to universities outside of the state. Also, the maximum credit hours earned are four hours, which is equivalent to one semester of an introductory college course. For the amount of time and commitment students must put into any of these college-level courses, it can be frustrating not having the opportunity to get double the amount of credit.

OnRamps and AP courses are structured completely differently. OnRamps is a flipped classroom style while AP classes are teacher-led. Having both courses as options is extremely beneficial to students who learn in different ways. Some students love the constant hands-on activities in OnRamps courses. Others benefit from the ability to directly access and gain immediate help from the instructor in an AP classroom.

The elimination of AP Precalculus starting next fall is especially concerning because it is a prerequisite to AP Calculus AB or BC. Taking away AP Precalculus takes away an opportunity for students to take and understand an AP-style math exam before taking the AP Calculus exam. Calculus is a principle course for most colleges, and passing the AP exam to be exempt from taking it is a huge opportunity. Eliminating the course and completely replacing it with On-Ramps hurts students. All the courses are designed under College Board to make the transition to the two classes smoother and reduce gaps in the curriculums.

As a school, we have also started to require incoming freshmen to commit to a CTE pathway until they earn a certification – a key target on the “career” portion in CCMR. High school is supposed to be a place for students to experiment. Changing electives shouldn’t be considered taboo. There are so many students who experiment until their junior or senior year with various electives. Many of those students have fallen in love with electives they started as a junior, which has led them to pursue a degree in that field. An eighth grader should not be locked into something they chose before ever stepping foot on our campus. Teachers change, courses change, and students should be allowed the freedom to change their minds and reevaluate their interests and schedules each year.

In addition, the TSIA exam and the STAAR End of Course Exams are central focuses of classes each year. If we are going to emphasize these exams, we should also emphasize the SAT and ACT. The college-entrance exams are critical in the college admissions process. Higher scores can mean a better chance of admission and thousands more in scholarship money. As a school, we should transition focus to teaching to these exams. Once English 1 and 2 students finish with their EOCs, their teachers could spend the last two months mixing in lessons that benefit students preparing for these exams. The same can be said for math classes once the required curriculum is completed.

If school days cannot be spared for just general lessons that would help boost students’ scores, offer weekend tutoring. Earlier this spring, Kingwood High School held free “SAT Saturday Success Summits” for juniors leading up to the required SAT test on campus. There is nothing equivalent to that offered at Kingwood Park.

While the state of Texas is tying district money to those complying best with CCMR, Kingwood Park must do a better job of focusing on its entire student body. As a school it is crucial we continue to support students who want to go straight into a career after high school, but it is just as important that we support and provide the best opportunities to students who want to receive a higher education – even if that takes them to campuses and universities outside of Texas.