In Honors English 1, you may recognize that it's the highest level of English you can take Freshman year, but know that you have the option of AP and IP during your 11th and 12th grade year. There's a common misconception that students enrolled in Honors have to love English and be good at it; that's not true! The decision to take Honors or Standard entirely rests in your hands, and has nothing to do with intelligence or talents within the English classroom.
So the big question: What's the difference? For my classes, Honors classes go faster, dig deeper, and delve broader in the topics that we cover in class. I spend less time with teaching organizational skills (keeping up with homework, assignments, tests/quizzes, when things are due, etc.) and allow more room for independent and small group studies. Honors classes are also weighted more than Standard classes on transcripts. Students who stick to the honors high school curriculum tend to be:
More prepared for high level courses (AP & IB) that offer college credits.
More likely to apply to 4-year university following graduation.
Have already developed strong academic skill sets and are working on refining their practices.
What you do during your time in class, with the coursework, and building relationships determines your success - not if the placement of classes.