By: Calle Caldwell

With the next school year incoming and students currently scheduling their classes, the controversy among CCP and AP courses arises. According to Bellbrook High School guidance counselor Khris Scohy, the fundamental difference between the two courses comes down to how the credit is earned. 

CCP is transcripted credit, which means whatever grade a student earns in a course transfers with them to a college and is calculated into their college GPA. AP is non-transcripted credit, which means that students are offered pure credit if they pass the exam and there is no impact on their GPA. Both require the student to report either their transcript or their exam scores to whatever colleges they are interested in attending.

Scohy’s data suggests that students are succeeding in both types of courses. Last year, BHS students earned 1,481 total CCP credits across 501 classes, maintaining a 94% pass rate. Meanwhile, AP students held a 95% pass rate (scoring a 3 or higher on exams).

One issue that arrives with CCP classes is their transferability. CCP is a state program offering guaranteed credit at Ohio public universities. However, out-of-state or private schools may be more selective, whereas AP is nationally recognized and widely accepted by almost all U.S. universities. Researching how each school accepts credit and what courses are required can help students figure if a particular course is worth it for them.

Many students take CCP classes simply for the credit. “I take CCP’s for college,” BHS senior Kori Place said. “The credits can transfer, which is helpful for lowering the cost of my college.” However, while state schools in Ohio must accept the CCP credits, they have significant loopholes at their disposal that may keep them from granting the credit, according to Tom Burns, an education director at a private school in Hilliard, Ohio.

Furthermore, CCP classes can provide more schedule flexibility. Students enrolled in CCP classes can get permission to have late entry or early release, since they aren’t taking as many classes in person. Attendance and academic performance will also be taken into account on whether a student is granted late start or early release in the coming year.

“Leaving school is definitely a plus, but it’s not all about that,” Place said. “It’s about being able to do the work at my own pace.” Effective for the 26-27 school year, all students taking CCP coursework (not including in-house foreign language CCP classes) will need to be enrolled in a total of 7 units (up from the previous requirement of 6) for extracurricular activities at BHS.

A positive aspect of CCP classes is the timelines. The courses are typically a semester long and have new assignments each week due on Sundays. This allows students to space out their work, rather than an AP class, which might generate shorter assignments due each day, since students attend class daily.

Both courses can provide rigor, but BHS social studies teacher Perry Caldwell warns about the depth of learning experience for online courses. “Attending class everyday consistently is the best way to soak up information,” Caldwell said. He teaches government, a required graduation credit, that is also offered as a CCP course.

The Brookings Institution looked at various studies for online versus in-person instruction. “Virtually all of these studies found that online instruction resulted in lower student performance relative to in-person instruction,” they said.

“Some students choose to take government CCP and some choose in-person,” he said. “It depends on the students’ learning style, but I would always recommend in-person.”