Where is the line between ensuring students succeed and holding them back? At Poly, ninth graders are not normally permitted to take AP foreign language courses, even if they test into them. On the other hand, ninth graders are allowed to take AP math courses. By allowing high-level math students to continue taking advanced courses while not holding the same standard for language students, Poly creates an inherent injustice that values certain skills over others. For this reason, I believe freshmen who pass a placement test and successfully go through an interview process should be allowed to study languages at an AP level.
This is not to say, however, that the rule is arbitrary. Upper School French Teacher Amandine Nélaton, who teaches the AP class, highlighted that AP French requires a level of critical thinking and cultural awareness that many freshmen simply do not have yet. She notes, “Half of the course relies on intellectual maturity – and that comes with age.” World Languages Department Chair Evelyn Barrientos echoes this view. She explains, “Enrollment in an AP Language and Culture course requires critical-thinking and analytical skills that students develop over time. As students progress through different courses at Poly, particularly advanced-level classes, they strengthen these skills and prepare for the demands of more rigorous language study.” Their reasoning ties back to the school’s primary reason for the language rule: Poly wants students to succeed, and putting them in a class they’re not ready for may negatively impact their academic performance and stress. This dilemma begs the question: does AP foreign language have a level of maturity and difficulty that is not present equally, if not more, in challenging math courses?
Classes like AP Calculus BC are known for ample homework and primarily base grades on tests and quizzes. On the other hand, AP languages evaluate a wider variety of abilities such as oral, written, and grammar, but they also draw off a student’s existing knowledge of essay structure and historical/geographical topics. Because of this, a student’s ability to successfully take an AP language is not easily testable with a simple diagnostic test, explaining why the school is hesitant to let freshmen take these courses.
However, if a student is ready for an AP-level course, placing them into a lower class may disrupt their learning. A 2025 study by Language Testing in Asia observed Japanese students placed in English-speaking courses that were and were not right for their level. It found that a lack of challenge is linked to boredom and demotivation, which may impede a student’s ability to develop language proficiency. At Poly, we must remember that students must first test into the AP course. Not everybody can automatically take the AP, or even levels III and IV. Therefore, it’s plausible to say that students who tested into the course may, in fact, do well. By not allowing those students to take the course, Poly holds them back from being adequately challenged. If AP-level language students are placed in a level III or IV class, they may not learn new material, and the flow of their language-learning journey is interrupted.
Currently, it is impossible to state whether the rule is reasonable since we haven’t actually seen how freshmen perform in AP foreign language classes. The rigor and maturity of advanced language courses do not justify the hard, impenetrable rule against them. Every situation is nuanced because every student is different. The current system assumes every freshman language student has the same capabilities regarding cultural and historical knowledge. Barrientos acknowledges, “Heritage speakers who speak the language fluently and have a strong understanding of its culture bring valuable linguistic and cultural knowledge to the classroom.”
Upper School Testing Coordinator Claudia Jimenez argued that if you can take the class, you should, stating, “If you’re prepared and you know that you can pass the course, then it’s allowable.” She said it has less to do with the measurable difficulty of the class and more with the student’s ability to handle it. One solution is to add an interview process for students who test into AP courses. This would help teachers and prospective students look beyond written testing abilities and see whether they are truly ready for the maturity of an AP course.
The current rule overlooks the potential and abilities of freshmen who are ready for AP-level language courses. In doing so, it places these students in lower-level classes that may regress their linguistic progress. Given this, we must reimagine the current system. By doing so, we open up opportunities for younger Poly students to take courses that both challenge and interest them while taking into account the rigor of upper-level courses.
