Seventh in a series
Re “Evaluating Culver High’s College-Eligibility Rates”
[img]1700|left|Dylan Farris||no_popup[/img]A day after the state reported that one-third of high school students took Advanced Placement courses and only 20 percent earned passing scores, Dylan Farris was talking about Culver City High School’s 42 percent of college-eligible graduates.
The principal recently commended his students for raising the eligibility proportion from 38 percent.
He emphasized the difficulty of AP classes.
“It’s a struggle, a struggle to complete them,” he said. “Algebra II is a sticking point for a lot of kids. It’s hard to get through the math sequence with a ‘C’ or better all the way through.
“That’s a challenge, probably the biggest part of the challenge, although students don’t just have trouble with math.”
Mr. Farris said that “we provide a very rigorous experience here. There are no easy grades at Culver City High School.
“In fact, this is one of the things we warn parents about when they transfer to us. We tell them ‘your child may not have the same academic experience here as at the school you are coming from.’
“Students report to us that it is a little more challenging here. Students who come to us from private schools often find this a big change. Of course it depends on the institution they came from.”
Mr. Farris allowed that there may be one or two reasons or a blend – that grading is softer, or, as he likes to say, “the level of rigor of the work that is being assigned is less.
“I don’t want to bad-mouth neighbors but to emphasize what we do,” he said. “This is our perception.
“We provide a challenging experience for students. They have to work to get good grades. At any school, I think math is a challenge, completing the sequence throughout. Algebra II is tough, and everything that goes along with it.”
(To be continued)
Mr. Farris may be contacted at dylanfarris@ccusd.org
