Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Advanced Placement Test Shame is How Few Kids Take Them

The Oklahoma State House of Representatives' education committee just passed a bill that would defund the teaching of Advanced Placement (AP) American History. The bill's sponsor, state Representative. Dan Fisher (R) explained his position, "Under the new framework, the emphasis of instruction is on America as a nation of oppressors and exploiters." That is debatable, but what isn't debatable is the horrifically small numbers of students taking AP tests in all subjects.

The price of four-year college degree is becoming less and less affordable for most Americans. New graduates have poor job prospects and as much as $100,000 in loans that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Anything that can reduce the costs is welcome.

Enter the Advanced Placement test, administered by the College Board that also does the SAT and GRE entrance exams. The AP test allows high school kids to demonstrate proficiency in a subject at a college-level for college credit. In other words, do well enough on the US History AP test, and you don't have to pay for the US History classes because you get credit for knowing all of that already. There is also a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test for those in college who would like to test out of a subject without taking the course.

In 2014, there were almost 4.2 million AP tests taken in the US in 34 different subjects. Of those about 900,000 were English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition. Around 460,000 took US History, another 271,000 took US Government and Politics, while 500,000 took Calculus AB and BC (varying levels of difficulty) and a combined 100,000 took one of the three physics exams. Those 4.2 million exams were taken by 2.3 million students.

There are about 15 million undergraduates in US universities, community colleges and other post-secondary institutions. Owing to drop-out rates and early graduation in some instances, there are more freshmen than seniors, and so it is reasonable to presume 4 million of those students are freshmen. If that is so, then at least 1.7 million freshmen arrived at college without an AP test at all. About half of those who take AP tests don't do well enough to earn credits (the scores range from 1-5 with 1 and 2 not qualifying for credit, and 3 not being good enough as highly selective schools).

What this means is that most students aren't getting time off for smart behavior. Among those who do pass an AP exam, they are saving one or two classes, a few hundred dollars of tuition. Given the potential of online learning, every student should be able to test out of at least one class. After all, if one is in college, one presumably has some kind of intellectual interest in something. There should be at least one test a student can pass for that.

Last year, of the 460,000 who took US History's AP exam, just 3,500 were from Oklahoma. That right there suggests that the kids aren't being taught, or worse, don't even know about, AP History. Of the 3,500, only 40% scored high enough to earn credit. In other words, those who are taking the exam aren't up to it, and one knows that kids can pass these tests if properly prepared.

If a student can pass one or two tests, the savings can be hundreds in tuition and text books. If a student can earn 15 semester hours (and it is possible because college award 3 hours per exam, and often more with scores of 4 or 5), not only is tuition saved, but the cost of living for a semester comes off the final bill.

America needs more, not less, preparation for AP tests.

© Copyright 2015 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



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