Benefits of High School Research Classes for College Readiness

By Ignacio Henao

Photo credit: Mas Program Instagram

Christopher Columbus High School is one of the many high schools in the United States that offers AP Research. Only available to Mas Scholars, it is the most exclusive AP class offered at Columbus. Should research classes be introduced to the rest of the school?

Research classes come with many benefits for college readiness. AP Research, for example, requires students to prepare, dissect, and analyze information regarding a topic without adding any bias. Learning how to leave bias out of an argument can help with rational thinking and viewing arguments from different perspectives.

As senior Carlos Montes De Oca commented,

"Learning how to view arguments from different perspectives has helped me resolve conflict in and out of class."

While the general consensus of students who have taken AP Research is that the class is worth taking, the amount of value extracted from the class depends on student effort, like most classes.

Mr. Kumer, Columbus' AP Research teacher, agrees that

"What they take away from Research is dependent on the person. I don't know what they take away. I hope they hope to evaluate arguments from multiple perspectives."

While AP Research might not be for everyone, it is a class that could potentially help many people of all academic levels prepare for college research. Many of Mr. Kumer's former students have commented to him that his class has helped college research to be a breeze.

If there was an ability to create this class for the rest of the school, it would greatly benefit the student body.