College Counseling News
Sandia Prep Featured in The Washington Post Article "A Few Lucky Students Who Don't Need AP"
SPS Director of College Counseling Bruce Hammond, and his views on AP courses, were the recent focal point of an article by Jay Mathews of The Washington Post.
In the article Mathews comments, "I admit that the private school educators who have dropped AP have very good reasons, from their perspective, for doing so. They are teaching in special schools with very motivated students. They argue convincingly that in those circumstances, they can do better than AP."
"At my preparatory school," Hammond said in his Edweek piece, "the most demanding history course is American History Through Film, which covers the 20th century from 'The Birth of a Nation' to Oliver Stone's 'J.F.K.' Students might view a film such as 'High Noon' as a reflection of Cold War America, or 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' as a critique of post-World War II suburbia. Along the way, they are required to write, each semester, seven papers of approximately five pages each, with midyear and final take-home exams of from five to 10 pages. For the year, they write approximately 100 typed, double-spaced pages of analytical prose and take zero multiple-choice tests."