Every year, teachers recommend students for their courses for the next and every year, some students disagree. This can result in a course override, where students opt to go against a teacher’s recommendation and take another course instead.
Course overrides are used for students to either bump up a level in a course or move down one. This can help students who feel that they are not challenged enough in their current course or those who feel that their current courses are too challenging.
The question is, are these course overrides beneficial for student learning? While SWHS does not publicly share specific numerical data, The Prowl was able to get guidance counselor Michele Brown-Quinn’s professional opinion on the topic.
“I firmly believe that the teachers are the experts of the course material and they know the students,” Brown-Quinn said. “They would be able to place them appropriately.”
Though Brown-Quinn is not opposed to course overrides, she believes that there should be a discussion between the student, parent and teacher before any decision is made.
At the point in the year when teachers are recommending courses, they have known their students for at least a semester and have gotten an idea for their work ethic and drive.
Civics and AP Government teacher Lindsay McGinn looks at multiple factors when she is recommending a student for a course, including skill set, motivation and student schedules.
“If I’m recommending a student for Honors Civics, but they really want to jump up to AP Government, my first question would be, what are you taking next year?” McGinn said.
It’s important to keep in mind the time students actually have to tackle a challenging course, especially when they are already taking other AP courses.
McGinn also mentioned the social factors that might influence a student to want to override a teacher recommendation, such as having friends in the same class and the desire to keep up with them academically.
Senior Cameron Adduci has done two course overrides and found that neither helped him, personally. However, he does think that other students benefit from the ability to override
“I know that for certain students, though, they [course overrides] are a core part of allowing them to reach full potential,” Adduci said.
Adduci also mentioned that a conversation between student, teacher and parent about how to help a student in their current class might be better than a course override.
Overall, the decision to override a course will be different for every student and is based on multiple factors in a student’s life.
