Of the dozens of classes at Saint Paul’s School, what is the hardest one according to students? After polling 100 students, what seems like a straightforward question has answers that are more complicated.

A class’s difficulty is extremely subjective – no pun intended. What comes naturally to one student may be much harder for another. A student’s innate interest in a specific subject also likely affects what he or she finds challenging.

Class enrollment also affects the results of the poll. A core class taken by most students will undoubtedly receive more votes than an elective that only a few students take, even if the elective is objectively more challenging. 

According to the students polled, Mrs. Jan Gardner’s Chemistry Honors class ranked as the most difficult, with nearly ⅔ of all students voting for it. Taught in junior year, the pace of the class combined with the natural complexity of chemistry make it extremely challenging.

Mrs. Gardner believes that as an honors class, it should be harder. According to her, students “have to fully understand and be able to explain and apply the concepts” to excel in the class. They should not cruise through it but “rise to the potential within them.” Accordingly, students must be actively engaged in class and responsible for studying outside of class.

Saint Paul’s junior Bobby Hanks is currently enrolled in Mrs. Gardner’s class. For Hanks, “It feels like a college-level class. It made me reinvent how I studied.” 

College preparation is Mrs. Gardner’s primary goal in the class. Upon becoming a teacher, Mrs. Gardner promised to prepare her students for college better than she was. Although students often struggled in class at the time, many thanked Mrs. Gardner later for their strong foundation in college chemistry.

Advanced Math Honors received the second-highest number of student votes and the most of any math class. Also taught in junior year, this class introduces students to trigonometry for the first time, as well as preparing them for calculus.

According to Mr. Jody Walker, students are required to “build and apply on the concepts they have already learned.” The introduction of trigonometry further “complicates things and makes it confusing for students.” To students, “the difficulty and the amount of material” were the complicating factors of the class, said senior Jonah Weigel. 

However, as previously stated, bias affected this poll. While it is true that Advanced Math received the most votes, it is not necessarily the most challenging math class. 

Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus BC, taught by Mrs. Kitty Pellissier, is, according to every teacher asked in the math department, the objectively hardest math class at Saint Paul’s. Covering both calculus one and two, this class is extremely fast-paced and requires a strong foundation in math. As an AP class, students can take a test at the end of the year to earn college credit.

Because senior math students are given a choice between five different classes of varying difficulty, very few sign up for AP Calculus BC, with only eight taking it this year. Of the eight, all are National Merit Scholars, including all six of this year’s semifinalists. The average ACT score of the class is nearly a 35. 

Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) was deemed the most difficult social studies class. Also taught in junior year, this class delves deep into the history of the country. As with any AP class, it is extremely fast-paced and detailed. 

Senior Caleb Tardo, who scored a four on the AP exam, took the class last year. To Tardo, “It was the copious amount of detailed information that had to be applied to a broader understanding of the topic” that made APUSH so challenging. 

Mr. Gordon Carmadelle, who teaches the class, acknowledges that while it is a difficult one, he wants “the class to fit into a student’s workload and not be overwhelming.” Mr. Carmadelle understands that many of the students are passionate about learning the country’s rich history, and he wants to embrace that passion while still preparing them for the AP test to earn college credit, which he does successfully – last year, the average score on the AP test in the class was nearly a full point higher than the state average.

Mrs. Travers’ various English classes each received a few votes, with English II Honors tallying the most. Mrs. Travers teaches eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade, all of which include deep analyses of famous literature and delve into the specifics of English grammar.

Memorization, a valuable skill in many classes, does not apply to these English classes. Mrs. Travers puts an emphasis on “critical thinking rather than simply memorization on tests.” This can be a challenge to many students, but Mrs. Travers believes it prepares students for different classes in the future.

The preparation of students for general writing both for English classes and for the rest of their lives is extremely important in the class. For current senior Carter Plaisance, Mrs. Travers’ class helped fill the gap in his grammar skills and also taught him “how to properly format essays.” Plaisance has a 36 on the ACT reading section, a 32 on the English section, and passed the AP English Language exam for college credit, due in part to Mrs. Travers’ rigorous classes.

Overall, Saint Paul’s students should not avoid these classes on this list. As Aristotle said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”