Should Your Child Take Honors Classes? A School Psychologist Explains

David Krasky
5 days ago
5 min read

What the Research Says About Honors, Advanced Placement, and Academic Success

One of the most common questions parents ask me is, "Should my child take honors or advanced classes?" They often worry that the work will be too difficult, the stress too high, or that their child isn't "smart enough."

The answer is rarely determined by IQ alone.

After more than 20 years evaluating children and working with families, I've learned that the students who thrive in advanced classes are not always the ones with the highest intelligence. Instead, they tend to possess a combination of cognitive ability, executive functioning, emotional resilience, and genuine curiosity. Perhaps even more importantly, they are willing to work through challenges rather than avoid them.

The goal should not be finding the easiest path to a good grade. The goal should be helping children discover how capable they can become.

What Are Advanced Classes Designed to Do?

Honors, gifted, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, and other accelerated courses are designed to provide:

Faster-paced instruction
Greater depth of learning
More complex reading and writing
Higher-level problem solving
Independent thinking
Increased personal responsibility

Contrary to popular belief, these classes are not simply "more homework." They require students to think differently. Students spend less time memorizing facts and more time analyzing, evaluating, debating, and applying information.

Intelligence Matters...But It Isn't the Whole Story

Research consistently finds that general intelligence (often measured by IQ) is one of the strongest predictors of academic achievement. Children with stronger reasoning abilities typically learn new material more efficiently, understand complex relationships more quickly, and solve novel problems with less instruction.

However, intelligence explains only part of why students succeed.

Many highly intelligent students underperform because they struggle with organization, motivation, persistence, or emotional regulation. Likewise, many students with merely above-average intelligence outperform brighter peers because they possess excellent work habits and executive functioning.

Think of intelligence as your child's engine. Executive functioning determines how well they drive the car.

The Characteristics of Students Who Thrive in Advanced Classes

Research examining successful students in AP, IB, honors, and gifted programs has identified several recurring characteristics.

1. Strong Reading Skills

Advanced classes require students to read large amounts of increasingly complex material.

Successful students usually:

Read fluently
Understand difficult vocabulary
Make inferences
Identify themes
Analyze arguments
Enjoy reading at least occasionally

Reading stamina is often more important than reading speed.

2. Strong Executive Functioning

Perhaps the biggest difference between successful honors students and struggling honors students is executive functioning.

These students generally:

Begin assignments without excessive procrastination
Keep track of deadlines
Organize materials
Break large assignments into smaller pieces
Plan ahead
Monitor their own understanding

Executive functioning often predicts long-term academic success as much as raw intelligence.

3. Persistence When Work Gets Difficult

Advanced classes eventually become difficult for everyone.

Students who excel tend to believe:

"I don't understand this...yet."

Instead of quitting, they

Ask questions
Seek help
Revise assignments
Study differently
Learn from mistakes

Psychologists refer to this as academic resilience.

4. Emotional Regulation

The best honors students are not necessarily those who never feel stressed.

Rather, they recover from setbacks. They tolerate:

Lower grades
Challenging teachers
Difficult projects
Temporary frustration

Without becoming overwhelmed.

5. Curiosity

Children who naturally ask questions often perform well because they enjoy learning itself.

Instead of asking:

"Is this on the test?"

They ask:

"Why does that happen?"

Intrinsic motivation predicts deeper learning than external rewards alone.

6. Consistent Work Habits

Successful students rarely rely solely on natural ability.

Instead, they develop routines involving:

Daily studying
Reviewing notes
Completing assignments early
Maintaining attendance
Getting adequate sleep

Consistent habits frequently outperform inconsistent brilliance.

What Skills Should Children Have Before Entering an Advanced Class?

Parents often wonder whether a child should already be earning straight A's.

Not necessarily.

Instead, I encourage parents to consider whether their child can generally:

Complete homework independently
Read grade-level material with good comprehension
Accept constructive criticism (strong ego)
Recover from disappointing grades (resilience)
Ask teachers for help (self-advocacy)
Stay organized most of the time (executive functioning)
Manage time reasonably well
Persist through difficult assignments

These skills can often matter more than earning perfect grades.

What Predicts Burnout?

Many parents fear advanced classes will cause burnout. Interestingly, research suggests that academic ability itself is not the strongest predictor of burnout.

Instead, burnout is more closely associated with:

Chronic anxiety
Low self-esteem
Maladaptive perfectionism
Poor school climate
Excessive external pressure
Feeling little control over one's academic life
High stress combined with limited coping skills

More recent research has also shown that perfectionism—especially when students feel their worth depends on achievement—is strongly associated with school burnout among gifted and high-achieving students. School stress often acts as the pathway linking perfectionistic thinking to emotional exhaustion.

Notice what is not on that list:

High IQ
High grades
Taking honors classes

Challenge alone rarely causes burnout. Pressure without adequate support does.

Signs Your Child May Be Ready

Children often benefit from trying advanced coursework if they:

Finish regular classwork quickly
Become bored in standard classes
Enjoy intellectual challenges
Seek difficult books independently
Like solving problems
Recover well from mistakes
Manage responsibilities with minimal reminders
Want greater academic challenge

Notice that motivation appears throughout this list.

Students who choose challenge themselves generally persist longer than students pushed into challenge.

Signs It May Be Better to Wait

Some students benefit from developing foundational skills first. You may want to strengthen executive functioning before increasing academic demands if your child consistently:

Forgets assignments
Has significant organizational difficulties
Avoids reading
Experiences frequent emotional meltdowns over homework
Has untreated anxiety or ADHD symptoms
Requires extensive parental supervision to complete basic work

Waiting one year is not failure. Sometimes it is excellent long-term planning.

Why Parents Should Encourage Advanced Classes—Even If Their Child Isn't the Top Student

One misconception is that advanced classes are only for "gifted" children.

I disagree.

Many children benefit simply from learning alongside classmates who value education.

Advanced classes often provide:

Higher academic expectations
Rich classroom discussion
Greater exposure to analytical thinking
Stronger study habits
Increased college readiness
More intellectually engaged peers

Research on AP and IB students suggests that success is influenced not only by cognitive ability but also by factors such as academic self-efficacy, motivation, school engagement, and supportive learning environments. These are skills that can be developed over time.

Even students who earn a B in an honors class may gain more critical thinking, confidence, and resilience than they would from earning an effortless A in a less demanding course.

How Parents Can Help Without Creating Pressure

Parents have tremendous influence over how children experience advanced classes.

Instead of emphasizing grades, emphasize growth.

Praise:

Effort
Persistence
Organization
Responsibility
Improvement
Asking for help

Avoid communicating that your child's value depends upon perfect performance.

Research consistently shows that supportive parenting, healthy expectations, and emotional safety reduce the likelihood of chronic academic stress while allowing children to benefit from challenging educational experiences.

The Bottom Line

Parents often ask me whether their child is "smart enough" for an advanced class.

I usually respond with a different question:

Is your child ready to work hard, stay curious, recover from mistakes, and continue learning even when things become difficult?

Those qualities—not perfect grades or extraordinary intelligence—are what most often separate students who merely survive advanced classes from those who truly flourish.

When children are appropriately challenged, supported by caring adults, and taught that growth matters more than perfection, advanced classes become more than an academic opportunity. They become a place where students learn one of life's most valuable lessons:

success is built through curiosity, perseverance, and resilience—not simply by being the smartest person in the room.

If you enjoyed this article, check out more in my latest book, Raising Future Adults