How to Build A Better High School

The measure is controversial, but students who take AP exams--even if they don't do well--are better prepared than those who don't.

對於學生參加AP考試這樣的這項措施是有爭議的，即使參加AP考試的學生他們做不好是也比那些沒有參加的學生做了更好的準備。

Morgan Wilbanks was in for a series of shocks when he transferred to the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate (IB) School in Alabama at the beginning of his sophomore year.

Morgan Wilbanks轉學至位於阿拉巴馬州傑弗遜郡國際文憑學校，展開他第二年的生涯時，遭遇到一系列的震撼。

The little-known school near Birmingham, which tops NEWSWEEK's list of America's Best High Schools, is on the leading edge of a growing movement to make secondary education much more rigorous.

這所位於伯明翰附近鮮為人知的學校，是名列新聞周刊美國最佳高中的名單之一，其在中等教育的改革中是位居領先的地位。

Wilbanks, then 16, found himself taking tough courses right from the start.

Wilbanks（16歲），他發現自己從選課的開始就開始體驗艱難的課程。

In his Advanced Placement (AP) European-history class, teacher Jeffrey Clayton gave startled students this initial assignment: memorize the map of Europe and be able to draw every country, along with 10 capitals, 10 rivers and 10 bodies of water.

在他的進階先修（AP）歐洲歷史課上，Jeffrey Clayton老師一開始的課程安排，就讓學生嚇了一跳：記住歐洲地圖，並能描繪每一個國家，還要包含10個首都，10條河流和10條河流的支流

And that was just a warm-up. 這只是暖身而已。

Clayton and other teachers told Wilbanks that he would be tackling nearly a dozen similarly demanding courses before he received his diploma.

Clayton和其他老師告訴Wilbanks，在他得到文憑之前，將近十多樣課程都有類似的要求。

A few of the school's 325 students fled, preferring a less strenuous life at a regular public school.

學校325位學生中的一些人選擇逃離，寧願到不須那麼勤奮學習的普通公立學校。

But Wilbanks, looking back this month a few weeks before graduation, says it was a "great experience" that prepared him well for the University of Alabama--where he'll major in chemistry and aim for medical school.

但是Wilbanks回顧離畢業只有幾星期的這個月，他說：「這是一段偉大的經驗。」為了到阿拉巴馬大學醫學院主修化學，他已經做好準備。

Parents and even some educators might cringe at the idea of turning adolescence into a forced march toward college.

家長和甚至一些教育工作者可能會擔心，學生的青春期被迫變成只為上大學而努力。

What about time --for fun, football games and memories of life beyond test scores?

時間是什麼呢？找尋樂趣，足球比賽和記憶測試成績以外的生活？

But even the most relaxed among them agree that something needs to be done to reform the American public high school, a 184-year-old institution that has been as resistant to change as a teenager ordered to clean his room.

但即使是最寬鬆的高中也同意，為改革美國的公立高中需要做一些事情了，一個184歲的機構就像一個青少年被命令清理房間一樣拒絕改變。

U.S. high schools generally score low in international comparisons.

在國際的評比中，美國的高中普遍表現不理想。

Unlike elementary and middle schools, high schools haven't made significant gains in reading achievement and have been erratic in math.

在閱讀方面，高中不像小學和中學一樣有明顯的成效，同時，數學的表現也不穩定。

Almost a third of all students--and half of blacks and Hispanics--fail to graduate.

將近三分之一的學生（包含一半的黑人和西班牙裔）沒能從高中畢業。

This dismal performance has captured everyone's attention.

這樣令人沮喪的表現，已經引起所有人的注意。

"There is a growing consensus behind high-school reform," said U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. "Never before have so many groups--governors, business leaders, children's advocates--been so united on the need to act."

美國教育部長Margaret Spellings說：「愈來愈多人意識到高中教育需要改革，從來沒有這麼多團體，如政府、企業領導人、兒童的擁護者，需要如此團結的採取行動。」