APs Phased Out

Three years ago, Hopkins faculty made the decision to begin removing Advanced Placement (AP) classes, starting with Advanced Calculus. Advanced classes such as, Adv Biology: Molecular Genetics & Biotech, Art History: 3000BCE to 1700CE, Adv Chemistry: Energy & Change, and Adv Math: Statistics alongside various entrepreneurship, music, and history courses will replace APs.

The goal of these advanced classes is to move away from the College Board and towards a curriculum that allows teachers to personalize and further explore the material in their classes. John Roberts, Assistant Head of School said that Hopkins has considered the decision to remove APs for “close to a decade.” Roberts explained that a “number of other departments find the AP curriculum, the program, to be kind of bothersome, and really limits them.” These courses were made to develop a new model of studies introducing “an updated curriculum focused on exploration, complex topics, and engagement with real-world problems,” said Lisa Proulx, Dean of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives. 

 The hope for the removal of APs is to allow for “more creativity and freedom in the teaching” said Kristine Waters, Dean of Academics. Both Proulx and Waters agreed that the new classes will “be able to leverage the expertise of our faculty.” Waters says it is “allowing them to design really cool classes.” 

Teachers also agreed that the AP curriculum controlled their teaching. Proulx noted that AP courses are “very fast paced because you have to get through everything by May…when AP testing happens…teachers were feeling a lot of pressure to cover a lot in a short amount of time and not be able to go as deep with the concepts.” AP Biology teacher, Dr. Joel D’Angelo called the pace of AP classes an “unfortunate consequence” because it “forced him to move on” from teaching more material.

Other factors contributing to this decision include the classes “being shallow material-wise” and teachers feeling “overburdened with factual content,” Head of School Matt Glendinning commented. Dr. D’Angelo agreed, saying one of the things he struggled with was “the pacing, the time,” and how there was “very little flexibility.” This decision also combines with the new potential daily schedule. Glendinning described that because of the pace of AP classes, “the main skill that ends up fostering in our students is memorization,” rather than understanding.

Math Department Chair, Henry Fisher and Waters, are enthusiastic about the flexibility that the new courses will offer. Waters said she is eager for both students and teachers to “not be bound by the college board's curriculum.” Fisher agreed, stating that he is excited “to generate great learning experiences without relying on the AP framework.” 

Students reported mixed opinions about the removal of AP classes. “I was honestly really looking forward to taking a lot of the classes that they are taking away,” Jemma Grauer ’28 said. “I think it’s cool that they are doing it so teachers can teach more about what they think would be interesting.” Other students are worried about how the advanced classes will compare to APs beyond Hopkins. Natalie Billings ’27 shared her concern for fairness between schools. “APs are the only nationwide way of determining equity across all schools,” said Natalie. “Hopkins opting out of the national program is an example of how privileged schools get to take advantage of the system. I hope that the courses replacing APs still prepare students for the exams and that teachers encourage students to take them.” Emily Fridman ‘26 also stated that “There are so many classes…that I would’ve loved to take…”

Others are optimistic and curious about what these new classes have to offer. “I am excited to see the new courses and hope they bring the same level of difficulty and that they are interesting topics.” Leila Chaar ’29 stated. Anya Huang ’29, is curious about how they’ll compare: “I’m wondering how hard the new classes will be compared to APs.” 

As Hopkins continues to phase out APs, faculty members are looking ahead to courses freely and thoroughly designed by Hopkins teachers. “I really hope that the student body will feel like they’re having a deeper, more meaningful learning experience,” Glendinning said, highlighting the school’s goal to balance academic challenge with engaging learning.