Course Selection

It will soon be time for course selection at WHS. We will be trying a couple of different things this year to aid students in making appropriate course choices for next year. Trying to achieve proper placement in a science course is important. Science is a cumulative subject, and many of our courses are structured so that the material builds on itself as the year progresses. Different sections of a course often cover material in different orders and different speeds. This is due to teacher assessment of the class's needs and to the sharing of common equipment. This makes it difficult for students who switch classes because they find themselves misplaced. Students who switch often face frustration because they have to catch up on material that they haven't learned, or they find themselves bored going over material that they already covered. We are also running into difficulties with space. Class sizes in science are capped at 24 for reasons of safety and effective teaching. A number of students who have asked to switch this year have been unable to do so because of class being full.

All science teachers will be asking students to take a self assessment quiz, and to consider carefully their strengths and interests when choosing courses. Achieving proper placement will keep frustration to a minimum, and will give the best chance of success and growth. While we cannot expect to have 100% success in placement, if we can keep the number of misplacements to a minimum, then we will be able to accommodate these.