Andover High School’s AP restrictions called into question by students, graduates

Avery Slaughter || STAFF WRITER

By the time the Class of 2028 first stepped foot in the lobby of Andover High School, it was abundantly clear that Advanced Placement courses were going to be off-limits for a while. During the student orientations that had occurred in the months previous, they had been told they weren’t ready for classes of such rigor; they weren’t mature enough and would have to wait until they were juniors to handle a responsibility so vast.

The rule barring APs seems innocent, but for some freshmen and sophomores, it is a cause of great stress. “After high school” is a concept that hopeful college prospects begin to consider as early as elementary school, and the inability to maximize APs as soon as ninth grade can be concerning with that in mind. That being said, the reasoning and logic behind the restriction is sound—how could underclassmen manage the workload and intensity of college classes, given the well-known academic difficulty of APs? Despite the good intentions, is it possible the act of minimizing that stress inadvertently causes more?

It’s important to note that two new APs are being introduced in the fall of 2025. These two courses include AP Seminar, open exclusively to sophomores, and AP Government, open to grades 10-12 (see sidebar for more details). AP US History and AP Java Programming was also made available to sophomores this year. These four courses are the only APs typically offered before junior year, though infrequent exceptions are made for students who demonstrate advanced proficiency in math and/or computer science.

For Shauna Murray, the question about APs is a loaded one. Working as both a high school teacher in New Hampshire and a School Committee member in Andover Public Schools, she’s deeply involved in the lives of students. Murray noted that the rules regarding APs and general course restrictions are not decided by the School Committee and are instead up to the discretion of the guidance department. The College Board also does not have a say in how the classes are run in individual schools beyond the administration of the AP exams. (Multiple attempts to reach Aixa de Kelley, coordinator of the guidance department, by email were unsuccessful.)

“I think there are some kids that are ready, but it’s really a student-by-student basis,” Murray said. “It’s tricky because you know the requirements are there for a reason, but maybe it could be a little bit more flexible.”

Current AHS students have varying opinions. Sophomore Connor McGovern expressed frustration with the policy and its possible implications on his future. He worried that his college chances were slimmer compared to future graduates of other schools with more lax restrictions and that ultimately it would damage his experience after high school.

“I think [the rule] probably does [hurt my chances],” McGovern said, “and you could also shorten the amount of years you have to take in college if you take a lot of APs in high school. I think about that.”

Canyu Li, who has eight APs under her belt as a senior, had an opposing view. She wondered if the stress she would have felt as an underclassman would have been insurmountable had she had the option to take APs, though she acknowledged that, when she was younger, she did wish to take them. Ultimately, she thought that the downside to taking these courses early on tends to outweigh the benefits, especially with college admittance in mind. She explained that, in her experience, colleges often compared you to other students in your school to ensure fair consideration in the admission process.

Many people were inclined to agree with that assessment, though former college admissions officer Jayne Jones suggested it was a bit more complicated.

“It all depends,” said Jones, now an AHS guidance counselor. “It depends upon the student, the college, and many other factors that make up a decision for admissions. Some more selective colleges want to see several AP classes, and less selective colleges may want to see a few APs, and still other colleges may be fine without any APs.”

While the freshmen at AHS were acclimating to the environment of the school this past fall, Diya Ganesh exited the bus she took from her lab at Northeastern University to her dorm. Having graduated from AHS in 2023, she had recent experience with how the AP restriction impacted her college experience. She took six APs herself, and she recognized that she was at a disadvantage in terms of college credits compared to her classmates, who had AP counts ranging from eight to twelve.

Jordan Altaffer, 2017 graduate of AHS and family friend of Ganesh, agreed at that moment. Though he had recently concluded his time at Georgia Tech, the toll his shortage of AP credit hours had taken was still present in his life. In addition to an increased amount of time filling his degree course requirements, taking more courses was financially inconvenient.

“If I had been able to take more [APs], I could’ve skipped my [college] freshman English classes and my freshman history,” Altaffer said. Not taking those courses would have both cut an entire semester from his college experience and minimized the cost of his classes.

Ganesh had similar sentiments. “People that are graduating sooner tend to get a higher priority in picking classes. […] I cannot emphasize how helpful having those credit hours ahead of time are,” she said.

The question of whether or not freshmen and sophomores should be able to take APs brings to light what Murray considered a larger social problem. How can high school students possibly have enough time in their lives to balance such hefty course loads and their own personal health? According to her, the “race to college” represents the flawed values in our society. Instead of prioritizing the well-being of students during the transition to adulthood and independence, we drive students to overwhelm themselves with academics to fulfill arbitrary requirements for further education.

“One of the things that is happening in society is that we’re pushing kids way too hard,” Murray said. “It’s just this vicious cycle of wanting to do more and wanting to achieve more.”