Honors for all is a simple idea; everyone gets to be in honors classes. Historically, honors classes were made for the few who would be able to tolerate the rigor of the course. However, nowadays, being in honors classes has become the standard when trying to get into a competitive college. This has meant that parents and schools have begun throwing as many kids as possible into honors programs, hence honors for all. Despite the promising idea, honors for all isn’t the solution for Jackson-Reed.

Honors classes are meant for students who are willing to go above and beyond to pursue academic excellence. The nature of honors classes is that they aren’t for everyone and are meant to be more selective, like APs, for those who have the ability and desire to succeed and can do so. 

The main idea behind honors for all is a solid principle: it works to push everyone to excel at a higher level and tries to prepare students for more difficult classes, with the intention of reducing the opportunity gap among the student body. The issue comes when an outside presence is determining what can be deemed “challenging” enough for an individual student. Those who already struggle in level classes only drop further behind with the additional weight of the honors coursework.

The school has known about this problem, so what is their obvious solution? Decrease the rigor of the class to help the students who struggle, which defeats the purpose of the honors program. 

This is one of the largest causes of grade inflation, as the teachers who stick to the harder way of doing things give out lower grades while teachers who use the easier curriculum give out higher grades for less effort. This “A for all” mindset would not be an issue if it were standard across all teachers, but it isn’t. So, the students with the harder teachers often have to work harder, just for a lower grade.

If some students choose to take an easy way forward, it is the role of their guidance counselor to provide advice and steer them in the right direction. It should not simply fall to the heads of administration to determine what is best for every student, it needs to happen on a smaller level. 

At the end of the day, not everyone learns the same. There are some who can succeed in honors classes and some who will struggle. No one should be subjected to an environment where they aren’t set up to succeed and so, while honors classes are necessary, they aren’t for everyone.