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Exploring Advantages and Disadvantages of Honors and General English Classes

Colleen Hartnett

School of Education, Manhattan College

4/21/22

Sister Mary Ann Jacobs

Background and problem

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Honors classes present students with a sense of drive and responsibility to set goals for

higher achievement in their education. Honors courses allow the GPA of a student to be

calculated for their benefit because they are taking a more difficult level course than non-honors

students. Upon completing my observations with high school English students in grades 9-12 at a

Catholic high school, I have observed both honors classes and non-honors classes in the 10th and

12th-grade curriculum. From my observations, the students in both honors and non-honors

classes have been assigned the same homework assignments and have been reading the same

literature in class. Students’ homework generally is study guide questions that focus the students

on recognizing the main points of the literature they are reading. The tenth graders all present a

clear understanding of the text, regardless of their level of class. The twelfth graders also present

a clear understanding of the literature they are reading.

A question of fairness can arise when students are taking these more “difficult” level

courses yet, are completing the same work as the non-honors courses. Does giving honors

students and non-honors students the same literature throughout the year benefit or harm the

confidence and expectations of English students overall? Students are essentially getting their

GPA calculated in their favor just because of the name placed on the course, rather than the

workload and their advanced work ethic required for the course. While this might benefit non-

honors students in the sense that they are getting a challenge and extra preparation for future

college courses, non-honors students still might struggle with the content and will not receive the

GPA calculations.

The purpose of taking honors courses in high school is for students to gain a sense of

what a more rigorous course load would be like to prepare them for college academia. Non-

honors students are getting this opportunity without even realizing it. Honors students are getting
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this opportunity, while also getting a GPA boost. The issue for the honors students may be that

their coursework is not challenging enough. If the two levels are receiving the same literature

and assignments, it might make honors classes feel easy being that “honors students tend to have

higher GPAs (Cosgrove; Rinn; Shushok), have higher retention and graduation rates, and be

more satisfied with college” (Brimeyer, 2014). If students in honors courses have these attributes

that set them ahead academically, teachers should be properly taking into consideration the

difficulty levels of the literature and assignments. The purpose of this study is to explore whether

giving honors and non-honors students a similar course load and literature benefits all students in

their confidence and expectations of English courses or leaves them at a disadvantage

academically.

Significance

However, it is hard to determine what is deemed more rigorous or challenging because,

“There are few characteristics of honors students that can be standardized, measured, or

uniformly compared across institutions” (Achterberg, 2005). For each institution and teacher, an

honors course can be very different and have different requirements. In some cases, an institution

can assign the same assignments and literature in an English course to their non-honors students

as they would for their honors students with really no difference in grading and difficulty levels.

This presents an unfair advantage for the non-honors students when they are held to the same

standard as an honors student, yet do not receive the same GPA calculations that honor students

get.

The way students are perceived by their teachers based on the level of their course can

vary, yet students end up completing the same course work regardless of what level they are

learning at. This might hurt honors students because they are not receiving the challenging
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workload they will receive in college. This also might hurt non-honors students because they are

doing the work of an honors student without receiving the benefits of the GPA calculations.

Lack of Structure in Determining Honors Courses

As previously stated, honors courses are tremendously varied based on specific

institutions. This also means that the process and requirements to be in an honors class vary as

well. Requirements can often be based on GPA and/or standardized test scores. While this can

show teachers a certain amount of capability of a student, “standardized test scores, a measure

that has been found to be biased against racial and ethnic minorities and groups with lower

socioeconomic status” (Brimeyer, et al. 2014). If an institution plans to use standardized test

scores to determine if a student should be placed in an honors class, there is already a racial

injustice that sets students of color behind. This is not a reliable way for students to be admitted

into an honors class, there are too many intervening issues that arise when a teacher is dependent

on just test scores for measurement purposes.

By placing higher achieving students among other higher-achieving students, the

institution is essentially ability grouping. This can have benefits such as, “it allows teachers to

tailor their instructional approaches to student abilities” (Gamoran, et al. 1995). While this can

present students that excel with an opportunity to take on various challenges in their curriculum,

this is ultimately defeated when the teacher assigns the same work and literature to both their

honors and non-honors students.

GPA and Coursework

One might assume that calculating the GPA for honors students for their benefit is a

helpful aid for students taking on a challenging course. For example:

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“California system decided that as an inducement for applicants to take the most

demanding high school courses, 1 point should be added to a student’s high school grade

for each honors or AP course taken (e.g., earning an A in biology would normally result

in a score of 4; an A in an honors or AP biology course would be worth a 5)” (Sadler,

Tai, 2007).

Students are incentivized to take harder courses to gain a higher GPA and many schools do make

this decision to alter the GPA for students. This process can be undermined when the honors

class is not actually presenting a challenge because the teacher is assigning the same coursework

as a non-honors class. It can make things more frustrating for the students that do not take an

honor course because they do not get the same GPA calculations. GPA is very important to

college admissions, “Even a small disparity in GPA between candidates can mean the difference

between acceptance and rejection by a college” (Sadler, Tai, 2007). Grade point average can be a

very stressful thing for a student and it becomes even more difficult when a student is enrolled in

a non-honors course, yet completing the same work as an honors student. There are also

discrepancies when it comes to exactly how each institution decides to weigh GPAs, which can

be another way in which some students gain an advantage, while others struggle to complete

advanced coursework in a regular level class.

Students that do take honors and even advanced placement classes might find that their

advanced high school education did not prepare them for their college education. Studies have

shown:

“28,000 high school graduates in Texas measuring persistence to the second year of

college study and first-year college GPA (Klopfenstein & Thomas, 2005) found that AP

courses provide little or no additional postsecondary benefit in college GPA or

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persistence when controlling for the balance of a student’s high school curriculum”

(Sadler, Tai, 2007).

If these courses are considered above average for high school students, yet present no actual

preparation for college classes, these students receive a higher GPA for their work. Students that

take higher-level courses do so with the intent to prepare themselves for the college level. It

becomes discouraging and might disadvantage these students when their honors education is not

reflecting that of a college course.

Teachers’ Favoritism of Honors Classes

Another issue that has been presented in studies as well as in my observations there can

be instances in which teachers tend to favor and put more work into honors courses. This might

be an issue because “Herr (1992) studied the difference between these two types of courses

[honors and non-honors] by surveying 847 teachers in New York State. He found that honors

courses were characterized by greater curricular freedom in choosing texts, topics, and teaching

methods” (Sadler, Tai, 2007). Being that teachers get more freedom in their honors classes, it

might make teaching those courses more enjoyable. However, when an educator is teaching the

same curriculum to both honors and non-honors classes, there should be the same enthusiasm put

forth, regardless of their levels. In another study, it was found that “General education students,

like their peers in special education, expressed discontent with their teachers, especially in the

rationale for learning content, relationships with students, and teachers’ attitudes towards

students” (Shaunessy, McHatton, 2009). General education students feel a lack of relationship

with their teacher in all aspects of learning. On the other hand, the study shows, “Honors

students detailed more experiences with a teacher willing to go above and beyond to assist

student learning” (Shaunessy, McHatton, 2009). General education students are not getting a fair
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chance to excel if they are given the same course load as honors classes, as well as experience a

lack of dedication from their teacher based on the course level the students are taking.

Methods

Many studies I have come across have suggested there is a lack of research about the

benefits and discrepancies between honors classes and non-honors classes. This is a topic that is

centered around a lot of ambiguity being that each institution gets to decide what constitutes an

honors student and honors program. To bridge this gap between honors students and non-honors

students, it is beneficial to implement a plan that supports all students. Being that there is a lack

of research on this topic it is important to gather information from other researchers. As I was

conducting my research the common theme that came forward when deciphering honors and

non-honors classes was, “the most important ingredient of an honors education is serious

intellectual work” (Atcherburg, 2005).

The first thing that should be done before the school year begins, perhaps even

orchestrated at the end of the prior school year, is to have the English teachers work together to

develop separate curricula for honors classes and non-honors classes. All English teachers should

work together to select proper texts for each grade and course level. The coursework for honors

classes should include literature that is challenging and progresses as the school year progresses.

The literature should include fiction, poetry, prose, novels, non-fiction, and memoirs. This gives

students a dynamic set of readings to develop their understanding of ELA. Following the

literature, there should be writing assignments in which honors students can present their

understanding of the readings. The writing assignments should include skills that involve

interpretation, creativity, research, and analysis depending on the literature the students are

reading. Similarly, the non-honors student should get a set of fiction, poetry, prose, novels, non-
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fiction, and memoirs. However, these texts should be slightly less challenging for the non-honors

students, but still, allow opportunities for students to be challenged. There should also be similar

writing assignments, but the difference in the non-honors course is spending more time on

teaching writing skills, teaching reading strategies, as well as working on comprehension. This

can be done by implementing small strategies into the students’ daily reading and writing,

making the end goal better readers and writers overall. After the first two quarters of the school

year, the teacher should be evaluating each course level to determine if the literature and

workload were too difficult, too easy, or moderate. The teacher should evaluate the student based

on their class contributions, writing pieces, test grades, independent work, as well as group work.

If the student’s grade levels are strong throughout these aspects of the course they should remain

in the honors program. If the student is struggling with the curriculum in more than two areas,

the teacher and student might want to have a conversation about the problems they are facing and

what the best options for them will be. If students in non-honors classes appear to be excelling

with the curriculum, teachers should have a conversation with the student about moving forward

to the honors program. It is beneficial to make the transition from non-honors to honors fluid.

This can be done in such a way that a student can move into a higher-level course, as they begin

a new unit.

The next step of the plan is to appropriately calculate GPA scores, which can only be

done once there is a clear difference in the curriculum. There must be a clear GPA calculation

system completed before the school year begins. GPAs should be evaluated each quarter to

ensure that there are no discrepancies in the calculations and that each student is placed in a

course that will benefit them. The teachers in the school, as well as the administration, must

work together to find the best solution to ensure the students are being properly rewarded, but
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not put at a disadvantage or high advantage. The GPA can be calculated by “1 point should be

added to a student’s high school grade for each honors or AP course taken (e.g., earning an A in

biology would normally result in a score of 4; an A in an honors or AP biology course would be

worth a 5)” (Sadler, Tai, 2007). This still rewards students for taking a more difficult course but

does not give them an advantage over students that do not take non-honors courses. It is really

important to make sure the honors curriculum is more challenging if the school decides to re-

calculate GPA based on course levels. After the school year, teachers and administrators should

be looking for any issues with the grading system.

The next step and one of the most important steps is “Seper (2000) made his infamous

(at least to honors administrators) assertion that all students deserve the same attention, class

size, and pedagogies, that honors students receive concluding that if all students can’t have such

than none should” (Achterberg, 2005). Having the option for an honors class can have great

benefits, but if that begins to sway the teacher to prioritize their honors courses over their general

courses, then this should not be implemented. One way that this can be avoided is for teachers to

be evaluated in their honors classes as well as their non-honors classes by an educator that is not

biased toward the teacher and the school. This eliminates biases, yet the evaluation will be

looking for any sense of injustice between the two levels of courses. This should be done each

quarter of the school year to seek out any issues that might arise throughout the school year.

After a year of these steps are carried out the school and teachers will address how well

the plans went. Teachers will look for students' success in both honors and non-honors English

courses for all grades. Teachers should review student work, test grades, formative, and

summative assessments. Teachers should also be discussing students' participation in class to see

how much the students understood the content.

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Anticipated Results

There can be a great sense of uncertainty when it comes to designing the difference

between honors and non-honors courses for students in the same grade. It is clear there is little

research on the discrepancies between honors and non-honors classes. It is important to further

expand on the research that is done to see if students are truly benefitting from the two different

levels. This plan will hopefully eliminate the issues with the coursework, making it more

appropriate for each of the students. The goal of the plan is to ensure all students are learning in

an environment for them. This plan will also work to eliminate the GPA issues, by first

eliminating the many similarities between honors and non-honors courses. Once there is a clear

definition between literature and course load between the two courses, then it is appropriate to

alter GPA for students taking on a more challenging course. This plan also works to eliminate

the biases between honors classes and non-honors classes. The teachers will become aware of the

problem and will be evaluated to ensure this issue does not arise throughout the school year.

After looking at various forms of research on this topic it is clear that there is more research

required within the field. This plan works to gain more information about the honors programs

and non-honors classes, as well as work out any issues that have been presented through existing

research.
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References

Achterberg, C. (2005). What is an Honors Student? Retrieved from

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1188&=&context=usgsstaffpub&=&referer=https%253A%252F%252

Brimeye, T. M., Schueths, A. M., & Smith, W. L. (2014). Who Benefits from Honors: An

Empirical Analysis of Honors and Non-Honors Students’ Backgrounds, Academic

Attitudes, and Behaviors. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council --

Online Archive. https://doi.org/https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcjournal/420

Gamoran, A., Nystrand, M., Berends, M., & LePore, P. C. (1995). An organizational

analysis of the effects of ability grouping. American Educational Research Journal,

32(4), 687–715. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032004687

Sadler, P. M., & Tai, R. H. (2007). Weighting for recognition: Accounting for Advanced

Placement and honors courses when Calculating High School Grade Point average.

NASSP Bulletin, 91(1), 5–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636506298726

Shaunessy, E., & McHatton, P. A. (2008). Urban students’ perceptions of teachers: Views

of students in general, special, and honors education. The Urban Review, 41(5),

486–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-008-0112-z