Here at South Broward, there are a plethora of AICE and AP classes offered. Each of them are considered to be higher level classes, being exceptionally more difficult than others.

Higher level classes allow students to delve into new academic challenges by offering a more competitive and fast-paced environment. However, these classes are not for everyone.

Sophomore Timofei Harbecheuski chose to enroll in AP Psychology.

“In this class we do vocab quizzes regularly, where we have 15-20 minutes to match usually around 20 words with their definitions. The teacher also makes us do notecards on the chapter to prepare, grading them separately. Sometimes we have over 40 notecards to do.”

His statement gives a general idea of the pace and workload a higher level class. Assignments are expected to be completed both swiftly and diligently.

Homework is much more tedious in higher level classes. If students are unable to manage their time accordingly, it is easy to fall behind.

On average, sophomore Emmanuela Yiannikakis has 90 minutes of homework each night. This AICE student’s classes include International History, English Language, and Pre Calculus. However, she finds the workload in Environmental Management particularly daunting.

“The amount of homework I get from this class is insane. In this class along with all the worksheets and projects, you need to complete an experiment highlighting an issue in the environment and a 2000-word research report to go with it. There aren’t many days where I go without homework from this class.”

The benefits of taking higher level classes promotes some to willingly enroll in them, despite the sometimes-overwhelming workloads.

The Cambridge program allows for students to take AICE classes. If enough of these classes are completed by students with a passing grade, they can receive a second, internationally recognized diploma at graduation along with their high school diploma.

AP or advanced placement classes reward students with a college credit for successful completion. These along with honors classes raise total possible GPA to 5.0 rather than 4.0.

It is understandable that the majority avoid higher level classes, as the benefits might not be significant enough for some to increase the difficulty of their work. Sophomore Joseph Perez chose to limit the amount of higher level classes he is enrolled in.

“Higher level classes replace time I could spend doing other things with schoolwork. I’d rather not overwhelm myself and go at my own pace.”