The Potomac School is one of many prestigious K-12 institutions in the DMV that shocked the region with some news a little while ago. On June 19, 2018, eight elite private schools in the DMV area (headlined by Potomac, St. Albans, and Sidwell) announced that they are dropping out of the Advanced Placement (AP)  program, and moving “Beyond the AP.” Potomac announced that all AP courses will be removed by the 2022-2023 school year, directly impacting the current freshman class (Class of 2023) the most. Potomac’s announcement regarding the AP program has elicited mix reactions within the community. Some are enthusiastic in regards to the change in policy, while other members of the community have cast their doubts about whether Potomac’s reputation holds enough reverence to be able to stray away from the “expected” high school curriculum. 

Heather Deardorff, the Director of College Counseling at Potomac, stated confidently after conversations with numerous universities that the removal of AP courses will not hurt the appearance of future Potomac college applications. Recalling conversations she had with over 20 universities, she said that “colleges really read into the context of the school” and “[would] not expect students to have [AP’s] on their transcript” if they’re not offered by the school.

 She clarified that the school invested significant time and resources before deciding to ultimately discontinue Potomac’s involvement in the AP program, which typically forces teachers into “teaching to the test,” rather than teaching their students what is truly important. She went on to say that colleges trust the  judgment of the Potomac administration, and if no AP courses are offered, a student will not be held liable for a lack of APs on their transcript. However, colleges are still looking to see a high level of rigor, which Potomac courses will still offer.

In fact, Potomac will still offer courses of similar intensity and pace to that of AP courses, titled “Advanced.” Such classes follow an original curriculum format unassociated with the College Board. The administration is already implementing these Advanced courses as options for students seeking to take a challenging course, in addition to the AP’s that are still being offered. Moreover, adding these courses provides an easier transition for all the students. For example, last year, the school added an Advanced Humanities seminar and starting in the 2020-21 school year, an Advanced Organic Chemistry and Advanced US History program are being added to the curriculum. 

Another frequently raised concern involved the ability to take the AP Exam, which can potentially allow a student to skip various entry-level courses and satisfy prerequisites once in college. Brock Schedler, a current Potomac freshman, stated that he is not worried about the appeal of his college application without AP’s, but expressed concerns regarding his ability to get credit towards college courses he otherwise may have been able to place out of through an AP program. However, students should not be worried, as they will still be able to take the AP exams, even though there will no longer be a course offered that is directly correlated with its preparation. Despite not having courses that follow the AP curriculum strictly, the courses that Potomac will offer will overlap in a lot, if not all of the material taught in a traditional AP class. These new courses will definitely be as challenging, and in some cases even more difficult than the AP classes they are placing.

Meeting with Ms. Deardorff made me feel extremely confident in Potomac’s educational plan moving forward. The rest of the Potomac community should feel comfortable as well, as this decision will continue to augment Potomac’s status as a premier preparatory school in the United States.