To the editor:

When reading “AP, SAT results down” (Feb. 22), I quickly made the connection with my experiences with advanced placement courses.

As a high school student who takes AP courses, International Baccalaureate courses, and dual credit courses, I will gladly say that these courses have helped me a great deal throughout my preparation for college.

Tremendous benefits follow the decision to take advanced placement courses. The experience these courses provide help students know what to expect when they get to college. This is extremely helpful, because they are able to begin the transition from high school to college in a familiar environment.

Advanced placement courses also help develop academic excellence at the high school level. They help develop a student’s critical thinking skills to prepare them for the type of learning college will present. Improving a student’s writing skills is also a focus of advanced placement courses, because clear writing is such a crucial skill in college.

Although advanced placement courses are extremely beneficial to students who are preparing for the rigor of college, many others — even some who plan to attend college — are not motivated to take these courses. Some of them lack knowledge about the benefits the courses provide. Another factor is the new financial policy that requires students to pay for their AP exams.

In order for more students to take advanced placement classes, more opportunities such as a program from the Suffolk Educational Foundation, which offers financial assistance for the cost of AP exams, need to be developed. The courses’ benefits also need to be better communicated so students will develop the desire to excel and get ahead before college starts.

Julia Moretz

Suffolk