Testimonials on AP

Ruth Denis Gladstone, who teaches Advanced Placement classes in history, English, chemistry and biology, has witnessed how the program truly enriches the students’ learning experience.

“Not only does each course advance them at the university level and give them a credit towards their degree, it inspires them to do more research and dig deeper into each theory,” she says of the program at the Canadian Independent College in Baden, Ontario. “Their added excitement about learning is inspiring for them and also for me as a teacher. It broadens their perspective. It’s inspiring to me that they want to work harder and learn as much as they can.”

— Claudia D’Souza

Biology teacher Bob Malyk quickly knows how well grads are doing at university.

“They e-mail me ‘thanks so much for teaching me how to write a formal lab’,” he says. The Advanced Placement program at Ridley College, in St. Catharines, Ontario, offers top high school students the opportunity to take a first year university-level exam course—in subjects ranging from calculus to chemistry—before graduation. High exam scores offer the option of skipping a course in university or simply making first year a little less overwhelming. “They get in there and they already know the equipment and how it works,” Bob says. “What I’m giving them is a competitive edge.”

— Heather Greenwood Davis