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AP surges as a tool for schools raising standards
Last year, 18 percent of U.S. high school graduates passed at least one AP exam, up from 11 percent a decade ago.
Not long ago, Advanced Placement exams were mostly for top students looking to challenge themselves and get a head start on college credit. Not anymore.
In the next two weeks, 2 million students will take 3.7 million end-of-year AP exams—figures well over double those from a decade ago. With no national curriculum, AP has become the de facto gold standard for high school rigor. States and high schools are pushing AP classes and exams as a way to raise standards across the board, in some cases tying AP scores to bonuses. And the federal government is helping cover the exam fees.
Now, AP’s rapid growth is reaching even schools serving some of the most disadvantaged students. These schools are embracing AP as a comprehensive toolkit for toughening coursework, emphasizing college preparation and instilling a “culture of excellence.”
If math teacher Jaime Escalante could lead low-income Los Angeles students to AP calculus glory in the story that became the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver,” why not others?
The problem is, there usually isn’t a Hollywood ending.
Last year, 18 percent of U.S. high school graduates passed at least one AP exam (by scoring 3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5), up from 11 percent a decade ago.
But there also are many more students falling short—way short—on the exams.
The proportion of all tests taken last year earning the minimal score of 1 increased over that time, from 13 percent to 21 percent. At many schools, virtually no students pass.
For instance, in Indiana—among the states pushing AP most aggressively, and with results close to the national average—there were still 21 school districts last year where graduates took AP exams but none passed.
Baltimore’s Academy for College & Career Exploration, where 81 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced price lunch programs in 2010, added three AP classes in recent years. Over the past two years, just two of 62 exams taken by its students earned a 3.
Passing an AP exam means demonstrating college-level skill, so a high failure rate isn’t necessarily surprising or alarming. Many educators insist the AP coursework preceding those exams is valuable regardless.
Still, they acknowledge the trend raises tough questions: Is pushing poorly prepared students to take college-level classes effective? Or does it just demoralize them and divert time and money better spent elsewhere?
One Response to AP surges as a tool for schools raising standards
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boder
May 7, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Much of the problem is too many administrators who think that dropping kids into AP classes will somehow magically elevate them. In the three decades I’ve taught AP classes, I have administrators ask why the class (in this case, History AP classes) “has to be so hard?” They are astounded, I say, ASTOUNDED when I reply “Because the test is that hard,” which they find incomprehensible (mostly because they’ve never taught an AP class themselves). I have even had administrators tell me my college prep (non-AP) class is too hard, but that more of those same kids ought to be in the AP section for the “challenge.” (Oh, and did I mention I teach at a long-established private school? Just sayin’.) What we have here is an educational manifestation of how George Steinbrenner ran the New York Yankees in the 1980′s: take a pitcher who has 12 wins and 9 losses each year, throw 10 million dollars a year at him and expect that somehow he will then magically go 21-9; take a career .268 hitter, give him 12 million dollars a year, then expect him to hit .330. Didn’t work for the Yankees in the 80′s, won’t work for schools now. If the kids aren’t ready, put them in somewhat less rigorous (yet challenging) classes to build skills. Even Willie Mays had to play a few games in the minors before becoming a Hall of Famer.