Junior year has the stigma of being the worst year of high school. It’s the year that causes sophomores to bite their nails in anticipation of the horrors that upperclassmen vividly describe.
Academic and social pressures have been proven to play a role in this.
According to AP College Board, 80% of American High School students attend a high school with at least five AP classes. Wide access to these courses encourages a large number of students to participate.
Juniors specifically are encouraged to take these more challenging classes in an effort to raise their GPA and earn potential college credit. As a result of taking on such heavy burdens, students struggle to keep up academically and succeed in a new and challenging environment.
Some of these same students are also burdened with activities that make academic success seem impossible. Sports, jobs and clubs can make things even more difficult for students, causing harm with not only physical but mental strains as well. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, almost 75% of high school students in the United States engage in at least one extracurricular.
For Westview, juniors are already feeling suffocated within the pressures of school and extracurriculars.
“I think it’s been harder for me because I have much harder classes this year and that’s why I think I see a struggle with a lot of other people as well. Most people I know are taking more AP’s than they did last year and taking harder classes in general,” Sophia Tran, 11 said.
Tran was shocked to find out the junior class had an on track to graduate rate of 64.3%, meaning only 35.7% of juniors are passing all their classes and are on the right path to be able to graduate.
“It seems so low because I thought before it was a little bit higher than that. That’s crazy.”
Many juniors are failing at least one core or elective class which classifies them as not on track to graduate. This seems like such a big shift because there was a 23.18% drop in on track to graduate rates for them since the 2023-2024 school year, when the class of 2027 were freshmen.
Madilynn Clinch, AP Language and Composition and AP Research teacher, said she views the current juniors differently than the previous class.
“Each class of students has its own personality and strengths. This year’s juniors are a bit quieter and more reserved academically compared to last year’s group.”
Clinch said she noticed that “This group tends to need more reminders and encouragement to turn things in on time. They can be hesitant to participate in discussions, but when they do, their insights are great. I think a lot of them are still learning how to balance responsibilities and stay motivated.”
Kevin Ommen, Algebra 2 and Geometry teacher, is convinced that the junior’s struggle within their classes is also partially due to Covid-19 and the loss of fundamental skills learned throughout those virtual years.
“I think that the subject I teach really builds on itself and it’s just like a foundation of a house. If part of the foundation is missing, significant work is required to get that shored up and fixed.”
Ommen also shared how he plans on supporting the struggling juniors in his own classes.
“The pace that I’m teaching at this year is much slower and I’m taking special attention to review those skills for the juniors and for all my students that will need to be in place if they’re going to make it through Algebra 2.”
Hoa Pham, Assistant Principal and Data Processor, said that she has a message for the junior class.
“Keep up with your work and don’t procrastinate. If you continue to focus on your work and dedicate yourself to completing it, then you will be successful.”
