I called my younger brother the other day to wish him a happy birthday and found him in a rather disgruntled mood. Rather than tell me what he wanted for a present, he opted to rail against his AP government teacher and the terrible job she had done preparing him to take the all-important AP test he had taken that day. I commiserated with him about the poor quality of some teachers given the task of teaching AP level courses simply because the boom in demand for the courses at high schools has surpassed the number of highly qualified teachers those classrooms require.
That AP tests allow students to qualify out of college courses or receive college credit has always been a questionable practice in my mind, at least since I began college. I have absolutely no doubt that I learned far more in my college courses than was ever covered on an AP test in the corresponding subject. I got a 3 on my AP Calculus test, but arrived in my second year Calculus class at college woefully unprepared. I also know that the knowledge that I left those college courses with was far more ingrained and reflective of genuine understanding than what I got from my high school AP courses. The ability to engage in meaningful discourse on the history and present state of our current governmental nightmare, I feel, outweighs the convenience of not having to take three hours of U.S. History in college.
I understand the benefit of not having to pay $300-1000 per hour for college credits, but as a future educator, I want my students to leave my classroom and school with far more than a piece of paper, and a smaller bill. My little brother, who probably hates me referring to him as such, who is extremely smart, and largely intrinsically motivated, will probably get at least a three in spite of his teacher. But I feel very sorry that he was let down by his, and my former, high school. At the same time, though, I want a student with his gifts to be challenged and educated to the extent of his abilities, and that will probably not happen until college.
This thought speaks to the larger argument I began earlier. Who is qualified to teach a high school course with an equivalence to that of one at a university? Is this even possible in principle? The AP tests were established with the idea that they would be used to help place students in the proper courses once they reached college. When colleges started offering students credits or exemptions from courses that are perhaps best taught at the college level, that intention was muddled. I believe that colleges are solely responsible for the curriculum that they require of their students, but the state of the AP testing system, I feel, has lowered the standards of that system.
I want the most for my brother, who is not so little anymore, and for my students, and for the students in all parts of this country. That’s it.
–Luke Webb
There was a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education a couple of weeks ago about the growing number of colleges that aren’t accepting AP credit anymore. The argument in many cases is that the AP exams aren’t testing the kinds of critical thinking skills that the colleges want to develop in their students and that students are better off taking actual college courses.
There was also an opinion piece in the L.A. Times last week written by a high school student describing why he’s not taking his AP U.S. History exam for much the same reason.
Given the emphasis Vanderbilt is now placing on the first-year undergraduate experience, it’s probably worth discussing the learning goals we have for first-year students and the outcomes tested by the AP exams to see if there’s a match…