Clearfield Area Junior-Senior High School offers many advanced classes for its students to enroll in. Enrolling in such classes can be extremely beneficial towards students and their futures. Dr. Spaid elaborated on how taking advanced classes can benefit students.

Dr. Spaid explains that students who take advanced classes are more prepared for college later in life: “Any time a student can challenge themselves academically it’s a good idea. Students are not bored when they are challenged. It helps develop tenacity and resolve. It helps students to realize they can conquer tough subjects, which then develops self-efficacy. School is preparation for life. We will all face challenges and struggles in life and believing in yourself and your ability to overcome challenges is an important attribute to possess.” She went on to explain how rigorous college classes are and how the advanced classes are modeled after them.

Dr. Spaid said taking advanced classes can potentially help you get into a college. For instance, Dr. Spaid stated, “College admission officers look at the high school transcript when offering admission. As a group, they are beginning to put more weight on the transcript as opposed to the SAT or ACT score. If an admission officer sees that a student took rigorous classes, they are more apt to offer admission because they will believe a student can do college level work based on what they took in high school.” She noted that kids who dropped out of college did not prepare themselves properly.

Dr. Spaid explained that college is not for everyone, but if you plan to attend college you should model your high school classes around it. Finally, she concluded with “Please come and talk to your counselor early about your plans for after high school. We can develop a plan to make sure you have the appropriate classes and are prepared for whatever you want to do. Planning is important.”

Student, Emily Shipley noted taking advanced classes can prepare you for the SAT/ACT better than other courses can. She explained, “Students who end up taking advanced classes are more prepared and qualified to take SAT/ACT then those who do not.” They help you learn more complicated content that may be on the SAT/ACT that you would not be able to learn in a non-advanced class.

Overall, taking advanced classes can only be beneficial towards a student’s future in a multitude of ways. It helps students prepare for college and challenges them so that they can learn new content. Taking advanced classes also manages to help students with their SAT/ACT scores. Therefore, it is highly recommend that students should try to take advanced classes during their high school career.