Students at Woodland High School have the opportunity to earn college credits for free while still attending high school, an opportunity many students decided to take advantage of during the 2021-22 school year.
For the current school year, the student body at Woodland High School enrolled in classes totaling 640 free college credits if they receive a passing grade in the classes in the College in the High School program, marking a 400% increase from the year before which saw 160 students participate. Students who take Advanced Placement (AP) exams can also earn college credits if they pass their exams. This year, 77 exams were taken by students, compared to eight last year, stated the release.
In the past, paying for AP exams or for the College in the Classroom program created financial stress for students and their families, stated the release.
“When you remove that burden, it’s amazing how many students will take advantage of the programs and truly succeed at them,” Terra Pfeiffer, a school counselor at the high school, stated in the release.
Studies show that students who obtain college credits in high school are more likely to succeed in college, according to the release.
“We wanted to create equity throughout the school by removing the financial burden that comes with paying for earning college credits during high school,” Phillip Pearson, principal of Woodland High School, stated in the release. “Additionally, students are more likely to persist in a post-secondary program — both two-year and four-year programs — if they have already accumulated credits in high school.”
Aside from paying for the College in the Classroom program, Woodland High School will pay for every student to take their AP exams, which saves students $96 per exam per class.
“While some states provide a GPA bonus for taking AP classes, Washington state does not, so we wanted to help our students who enroll in these rigorous classes by removing any barrier to earning college credit from the classes,” Pearson stated in the release. “By paying for every student’s AP exam, students taking the AP classes can earn college credits simply by passing the exams for their classes without the financial burden of having to pay to take the exams with the potential of failing and not earning credit.”
Staff members hope the move will also encourage students who are hesitant to pursue a college education due to financial concerns, the release stated.
“There’s an aspirational quality we want to offer to all of our students: If they already have college credits when they graduate high school, they will be more likely to consider a post-secondary education than if they had no credits,” stated Pearson in the release.
Another benefit is the students can be more successful while taking the college credits through their high school classes, rather than earning the credits through programs like Running Start.
“Our research shows students who earn college credits while staying at the high school campus have a much higher success rate than if they leave campus to take the classes elsewhere,” Pearson stated in the release. “If the students stay at the high school, our staff can monitor their progress and step in with support and additional tutoring early on.”
The funds for the AP exam fees and College in the Classroom program are paid from grants provided by Washington state, the release stated.
“Previously, if a student lived less than 20 miles away from a local college, they wouldn’t be eligible to earn tuition assistance at the high school and this discrepancy often served as a disadvantage to students who would otherwise make use of the assistance,” Pearson stated in the release. “Thanks to changes made to the funding models, we can now provide free college credits to all of our students with those most in-need eligible to receive even more credits free-of-charge.”
Students who meet the requirements of the college courses can receive five free credits. At-risk students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program or the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, can receive up to 10 free college credits, according to the release.
“We want to make sure every single student has the opportunity to graduate from high school with a head-start on their post-secondary education plans,” stated Pearson in the release. “For those in need, we want to ensure they have even more assistance since the more credits they earn in high school, the more likely they will be to pursue a post-secondary education.”
The Woodland High School staff intended to curb any potential barriers for student success as a main priority in funding college credits for the students.
“We asked ourselves, ‘what are we aspiring for on behalf of our students?’” Pearson stated in the release. “By removing the financial and logistical barriers to earning college credit during high school, the question is no longer ‘how’ or ‘why,’ but ‘why not?’”
To learn more, go online to woodlandschools.org/news/wsd.
