Regular and Advanced Placement (AP) versions of a course have always maintained a significant gap as far as workload, testing and the degree of analysis expected. However, many Fairfax County Public Schools have solved this problem in the past by retaining a third option, honors, to accommodate another category of students.

This middle option is not available for any of the classes at Langley, despite the opportunities students not enrolled in AP claim honors courses could provide for them. “I still want the rigor of an advanced course without the additional work of an AP class,” said junior Galila Daniel.

Regardless of the benefits this median would offer, Langley does not plan to include any honors option in the near future. Furthermore, they are now removing all honors courses from Fairfax County Schools in general, thereby decreasing Langley’s chances of ever gaining this alternative even further.

This decision was made in hopes to move current honors students up to an AP level and consolidate students into two major groups. However, both parents and students of these schools have risen up in opposition, and rightly so, seeing as the removal of honors tracks may result in the reverse outcome and send discouraged students down to regular course options.

By eliminating this option for schools such as Fairfax, Lake Braddock, South County, West Springfield and Westfield, they are simply causing other schools in the county to face a division issue that Langley already has. Langley’s inclusion of an honors median course in subjects which currently include just regular and AP options would provide a less intense version for those looking to challenge themselves, but dreading AP homework. Because this is not offered, indecisive students automatically opt for regular classes.

Sophomore Shreya Puri agreed, stating that she thought an AP course would simply be “too much of a work load,” but that she would sign up for an alternative honors course.

Rather than eliminating honors classes from the only schools that still have them, Fairfax County should be adding them to schools such as Langley, where a larger number of students would succeed at a greater level if honors was available.