If a student wants to take a more advanced course, or boost their GPA, MV has many AP courses for students to choose from, ranging from AP Music Theory to AP Literature.  AP classes prepare students for more college-level coursework as the workload is more plentiful and complex than that of a normal high school class.  These classes also offer a weighted grade that can boost a student’s GPA above a 4.0.  Though AP classes are similar to college courses, many schools require a certain score on the final exam to be considered as college credit.  

However, according to College Board, only 22.5% of students who take an AP exam scored a 3 or higher on at least one exam.  Some colleges even require a 4 or 5 to recognize the credit.  This means that a student could get an A in an AP class yet receive no dual credit because they did poorly on the exam.  

For this reason, many students are turning to Dual Credit courses.  Most general classes in college can be and are completed for a fraction of the price in high school classrooms across the country.  For example, MV offers College English, Pre-Calculus/ Trigonometry, Calculus, Statistics, Medical Terminology, and more.  But a major portion is missing from these options: Science.  

AP Biology and AP Chemistry are options for students to take, but there is no guarantee that if a student passes the class they will receive the college credit in the science department at MV.  Many degrees require at least one science class in college.  

However, if students wish to be Valedictorian and/or plump their transcripts, AP classes can be very beneficial.  In reality, one student will be valedictorian, but many students will attend college, and even more would if they could complete more courses for the cheaper cost RLC offers through MV, and with the atmosphere of a high school classroom.  

We do have some classes to offer and students should utilize what they can.  For Instance, AP Statistics will be considered an AP as well as a Dual Credit course in the 22-23 school year.  It would be beneficial to have more opportunities here at MV for students wanting to further their education beyond this campus.  The goal of the school should be to encourage and help as many students as possible further their academic careers and the addition of a Dual Credit course in the science department would be a great step toward this goal.