At Madison, students are always trying to find new ways to increase academic rigor by taking challenging classes. Although this previously meant only AP classes, college-level courses restructured for high school students, some students are choosing to skip AP and go directly to local colleges to take actual college classes. During the past few years, the number of students taking Dual Enrollment (DE) classes, specifically English, has risen , causing some to wonder what the point of taking some classes at school is when you could take them at NOVA or any other local community college.
Many seniors can be spotted leaving school early or arriving late to class because they have a free period, often due to DE classes. DE classes meet once a week after school online, which allows students to have a free spot in their daily schedule. For many students the opportunity to miss an hour or two of school is one of the desirable factors that encourage many to enroll in DE classes, however, this desirability may wane if the class switches to in person, resulting in fewer students.
Although the class does appear impressive on college applications as a higher level class, some may wonder if it’s just as impressive as AP classes. Many students take DE English to avoid AP Literature or Language while still trying to take a rigorous English class. However, DE English may be more challenging. DE English has much more homework than AP Lit, as it has a high level of writing not included in AP Lit. While AP Lit is focused on evaluating fictional work from various periods, DE English is primarily focused on expository and argumentative writing. With all this work, these classes should appear better on college applications than AP classes. However, this needs to be clarified. College counselors often promote AP classes over dual enrollment due to their higher course rigor and comparability with other students since AP classes are offered in more schools than DE.
When discussing classes, it’s important to consider the teacher just as much as the student. To teach a DE class, the teacher must have a master’s degree in English approved by NOVA administrators and complete on boarding through Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). This teacher would technically be teaching a college course and would have to deal with the material and workload included in a college course, their position and composition remain the same, a deterrent to many potential DE teachers. However, if you’re expecting them to be as lenient as high school teachers, you’d be sorely mistaken.
DE English can be intriguing to some as it allows students to focus on the more useful aspects of English, like expository and argumentative writing, instead of analyzing “Hamlet” in AP Lit. DE English has many positives for students, but prospective learners need to remember its roots. DE English is a college course you take at a local community college, not room 127A of your high school. If you want to take a college-level English course, take AP Lit or Lang.
