Advanced Placement

Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the examinations. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in that field of study. For a high school course to have the designation, the course must be audited by the College Board to ascertain that it satisfies the AP curriculum. If the course is approved, the school may use the AP designation and the course will be publicly listed on the AP Course Ledger.[1]

History

After the end of World War II, the Ford Foundation created a fund that supported committees studying education.[2] The program, which was then referred to as the "Kenyon Plan",[3] was founded and pioneered at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, by the then-college president Gordon Chalmers. The first study was conducted by four prep schools—the Lawrenceville School, Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and St. Paul's School —and three universities—Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University. In 1952 they issued the report General Education in School and College: A Committee Report which recommended allowing high school seniors to study college-level material and to take achievement exams that allowed them to attain college credit for this work.[4] The second committee, the Committee on Admission with Advanced Standing, developed and implemented the plan to choose a curriculum. A pilot program was run in 1952 which covered eleven disciplines. In the 1955-56 school year, it was nationally implemented in ten subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, History, French, German, Spanish, and Latin.

The College Board, a non-profit organization[5] based in New York City, has run the AP program since 1955.[6] From 1965 to 1989, Harlan Hanson was the director of the Advanced Placement Program.[7] It develops and maintains guidelines for the teaching of higher level courses in various subject areas. In addition, it supports teachers of AP courses and supports universities.[8] These activities are funded through fees required to take the AP exams.

In 2006, over one million students took over two million Advanced Placement examinations.[9] Many high schools in the United States offer AP courses,[10] though the College Board allows any student to take any examination regardless of participation in its respective course.[11] Therefore, home-schooled students and students from schools that do not offer AP courses have an equal opportunity to take AP exams.

As of the 2015 testing season, exams cost $91 each,[12] though the cost may be subsidized by local or state programs. Financial aid is available for students who qualify for it; the exam reduction is $26 or $28 per exam from College Board plus an additional $8 rebate per fee-reduced exam from the school. There may be further reductions depending on the state. Out of the $91, $8 goes directly to the school to pay for the administration of the test, which some schools will reduce to lower the cost to the student.

On April 3, 2008, the College Board announced that four AP courses—French Literature, Latin Literature, Computer Science AB, and Italian Language and Culture—would be discontinued after the 2008–2009 school year due to lack of funding.[13][14] However, the Italian Language and Culture test was again offered beginning in 2011.

Starting July 2013 AP allowed students for the first time to both view and send their scores online.[15]

The number of AP exams administered each year has seen a steady increase over the past decade. In 2003, 175,860 English Language and Composition exams were administered. By 2013, this number had risen to 476,277, or an increase of 171%. Such an increase has occurred in nearly all AP exams offered, with the AP Psychology exam seeing a 281% increase over the past decade. In 2017, the most taken AP exam was English Language and Composition with 579,426 students and the least taken AP exam was Japanese Language and Culture with 2,429 students.[16]

The AP exams begin on the first Monday in May and last ten school days (two weeks).

Scoring

AP tests are scored on a 1 to 5 scale as follows:[17]

• 5 – Extremely well qualified
• 4 – Well qualified
• 3 – Qualified
• 2 – Possibly qualified
• 1 – No recommendation

The multiple choice component of the exam is scored by computer, while the free response and essay portions are scored by trained Readers at the AP Reading each June. The scores on various components are weighted and combined into a raw Composite Score. The Chief Reader for each exam then decides on the grade cutoffs for that year's exam, which determine how the Composite Scores are converted into the final grades. During the process a number of reviews and statistical analyses are performed to ensure that the grading is reliable. The overall goal is for the grades to reflect an absolute scale of performance which can be compared from year to year.[18]

Some colleges use AP test scores to exempt students from introductory coursework, others use them to place students in higher designated courses, and some do both. Each college's policy is different, but most require a minimum score of 3 or 4 to receive college credit.[19] Typically, this appears as a "CR" grade on the college transcript, although some colleges and universities will award an A grade for a 5 score.[20] Some countries, such as Germany, that do not offer general admission to their universities and colleges for holders of an American high school diploma without preparatory courses will directly admit students who have completed a specific set of AP tests, depending on the subject they wish to study there.

In addition, completing AP courses help students qualify for various types of scholarships. According to the College Board, 31 percent of colleges and universities look at AP experience when making scholarship decisions.[21]

Beginning with the May 2011 AP Exam administration, the College Board changed the scoring method of AP Exams.[22][23] Total scores on the multiple-choice section are now based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points are no longer deducted for incorrect answers and, as was the case before, no points are awarded for unanswered questions. However, scoring requirements have also been increased.

Score reporting

Starting with the May 2013 AP Examination Administration, the College Board launched an Internet-based score reporting service.[24] Students can use their 2013 AP Number or Student Number (if one was indicated) along with a College Board Account,[25] to access current and previous years' exam scores. This system can also be used to send scores to colleges and universities for which a four-digit institutional code[26] is assigned.

Exam subsidies

Recognizing that the cost could be an impediment to students of limited means, a number of states and municipalities independent of the College Board have partially or fully subsidized the cost. For example, the state of Florida reimburses schools districts for the exam costs of students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. The Los Angeles Unified School District, the Montebello Unified School District, the Hawaii Department of Education, New York City Department of Education, and the state of Indiana subsidize Examination fees in subjects of math, science, and English[27], and the Edmonds School District in suburban Seattle currently subsidizes Advanced Placement fees of students who enroll in the free school lunch program. Some school districts, such as Fairfax County Public Schools, will fully cover the cost of a limited number of exams, after which point the student must pay. In addition, some school districts offer free tests to all students enrolled in any Advanced Placement class.

Advanced Placement courses

There are currently 38 courses and exams available through the AP Program.[28]

Recent and upcoming exam changes

2016–2017

• AP World History
  • This exam will also undergo the same basic changes to the 2014-2015 United States History and 2015-2016 European History exams.[29]
    • Shortened multiple-choice section with 55 questions, accounting for 40% of the total exam score. These are reduced from 70 questions and 50% in previous years, respectively.
    • Four short-answer questions in place of one of the long essays, accounting for 20% of the total exam score. These questions are given a 50-minute writing period.
    • Document-based question (DBQ) and the remaining long essay now account for 25% and 15% of the exam score respectively. New writing periods of 55 minutes and 35 minutes respectively are given instead of the combined 120-minute writing period for all three essays in previous exams.
• AP Calculus AB
  • Time format changed
  • Addition of L'Hôpital's rule
• AP Calculus BC
  • Addition of limit comparison tests, absolute and conditional convergence, and the alternating series.

2018–2019

• AP United States Government and Politics[30]
  • Section I (MCQ) will be extended from 60 questions in 45 minutes to 55 questions in 80 minutes. It will still count towards 50% of the total exam score.
    • The questions will feature a greater use of scenarios and stimulus material.
    • The number of answer choices for each question will be reduced from five to four.
  • Section II (FRQ) will include four questions in 100 minutes (the same amount of question and time as the previous exams). The section as a whole will be worth 50% of the total exam score. All four questions are weighted equally (each are worth 12.5% of the total exam score).
    • One will be a concept application questions involving a political scenario.
    • One will be a quantitative analysis and interpretation question with a visual stimulus.
    • One will be a SCOTUS Comparison, a comparison between two different supreme court cases
    • One will be an argumentation essay requiring supporting evidence and reasoning.

2019–2020

• As a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the College Board announced that AP exams may be taken from home. The exams are modified to only cover approximately the first 75% of the course. For most exams, the exam is 45 minutes long and consists of one or two free response questions that can be submitted typed or handwritten. The exams are open note, open book, and open Internet.[31]
• AP Comparative Government and Politics [32]
  • Section I (Multiple Choice): The amount of questions will remain the same at 55 questions, but time for the section will increase from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. It will continue to be worth 50% of the total exam score.
    • Each question will now have 4 possible options instead of 5.
    • There will be 2 text-based sources followed by a few questions.
    • There will be 3 quantitative sources followed by a few questions.
  • Section II (Free Response) The amount of questions will decrease from 8 questions to 4 questions. The time will also decrease from 100 minutes to 90 minutes. It will continue to be worth 50% of the total exam score.
    • Question 1: Conceptual Analysis
    • Question 2: Quantitative Analysis
    • Question 3: Comparative Analysis
    • Question 4: Argument Essay
• AP World History [33]
  • The course will now be split up into two different exams:
    • AP World History: Modern - It will cover world history from the year 1200 CE to the present.
    • AP World History: Ancient - This course will be released at a later, unspecified date.
  • The Exam format will remain the same.
• AP Biology
• AP English Language and Composition

Recent exam information

AP Exam Taken by Subject 2019

Below are statistics from the 2019 exam cycle showing the number of participants, the percentage who obtained a score of 3 or higher, and the mean score. Students generally need a score of 3 or higher to receive credit or benefit.

2019 scoring results

Exam name	Number administered	Scored ≥3 (%)	Mean score
2-D Art and Design	37,749	86.4	3.57
3-D Art and Design	6,040	70.0	3.08
Art History	24,476	63.1	2.99
Biology	260,816	64.7	2.92
Calculus AB	300,659	58.4	2.97
Calculus BC	139,195	81.0	3.80
Chemistry	158,847	55.6	2.74
Chinese Language and Culture	13,853	89.9	4.19
Comparative Government and Politics	23,522	66.0	3.20
Computer Science A	69,685	69.6	3.26
Computer Science Principles	96,105	71.9	3.11
Drawing	21,769	81.1	3.65
English Language and Composition	573,171	54.3	2.78
English Literature and Composition	380,136	49.7	2.62
Environmental Science	172,456	49.3	2.68
European History	100,655	58.1	2.90
French Language and Culture	23,249	77.1	3.30
German Language and Culture	5,160	72.3	3.30
Human Geography	225,235	49.1	2.55
Italian Language and Culture	2,000	66.1	3.02
Japanese Language and Culture	2,479	79.3	3.69
Latin	6,083	62.9	2.95
Macroeconomics	146,091	58.9	2.94
Microeconomics	91,551	69.6	3.28
Music Theory	18,864	63.7	3.11
Physics 1: Algebra-Based	161,071	45.4	2.51
Physics 2: Algebra-Based	23,802	65.4	3.06
Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism	25,342	73.0	3.60
Physics C: Mechanics	57,131	71.8	3.76
Psychology	200,709	64.5	3.09
Research	15,724	75.9	3.15
Seminar	43,441	81.1	3.08
Spanish Language and Culture	187,133	88.7	3.71
Spanish Literature and Culture	29,345	72.3	3.10
Statistics	219,392	59.7	2.87
United States History	496,573	53.7	2.71
United States Government and Politics	314,825	55.1	2.62
World History	313,317	55.3	2.75
Total	4,987,651	65.2	3.12

One issue to consider is the fact that not all AP students take their course's test. The College Board estimates that about 2/3 of students enrolled in an AP course take the course's AP test.[34] On the other hand, a study of University of California system students found that only about 55% to 60% of AP students took their course's exam.[35]

However, "It has recently become clear . . . that these estimations of overall participation rates mask the variability in participation rates across AP examinations."[36] For example, one study of math and science AP courses showed that participation rates were 52.7% for AP Chemistry, 53.6% for AP Physics, 57.7% for AP Biology, and 77.4% for AP Calculus.[37] The largest study on this topic found similar participation rates (49.5% for AP Chemistry, 52.3% for AP Physics, 54.5% for Biology, and 68.9% for Calculus).[38] History exams tend to have slightly higher participation rates (57.9% for AP European History, 58.5% for AP World History, and 62.8% for AP U.S. History), and 65.4% of AP English students took either the AP English Language or AP English Literature exam.[36] This same study found that for "core AP subjects (i.e., no arts or language subjects)", the overall test participation rate was 60.8%.[36]

In February 2014 College Board released data from the previous ten years of AP exams. College Board found that 33.2% of public high school graduates from the class of 2013 had taken an AP exam, compared to 18.9% in 2003. In 2013 20.1% of graduates who had taken an AP test achieved a 3 or higher compared to 12.2% in 2003.

Criticism

Decreasing quality

Independent educational researchers began to question whether AP could maintain high academic standards while experiencing explosive growth.[39] Research has shown that the most popular AP tests tend to have the lowest passing rates, a possible indication that less academically prepared students are enrolling in AP classes.[40] Whether the AP program can serve large numbers of students without decreasing academic rigor is a matter of debate within the education field.[39][41]

Passing scores and university credit

University faculty, such as former professor and high school teacher John Tierney, have expressed doubts about the value of a passing AP score.[42] Students who receive scores of 3 or 4 are being given college credit at fewer universities. Academic departments also criticise the increasing proportion of students who take and pass AP courses but are not ready for college-level work.[43]

Academic achievement

Independent researchers in education have since 2010 studied the impact of the Advanced Placement program on students' academic achievement. An early study published in AP: A critical examination of the Advanced Placement program found that students who took AP courses in the sciences but failed the AP exam performed no better in college science courses than students without any AP course at all. Referring to students who complete the course but fail the exam, the head researcher, Phillip M. Sadler, stated in an interview that "research shows that they don't appear to have learned anything during the year, so there is probably a better course for them".[44]

Two other studies compared non-AP students with AP students who had not taken their course's AP exam, had taken the AP exam but did not pass it, or had passed the AP exam. Like Sadler's study, both found that AP students who passed their exam scored highest in other measures of academic achievement.[45] The largest study of this sort, with a sample size of over 90,000, replicated these results and also showed that non-AP students performed with equal levels of academic achievement as AP students who did not take their course's AP exam—even after controlling for over 70 intervening variables.[46] This led the authors to state that AP participation "... is not beneficial to students who merely enroll in the courses ..."[46]^:p. 414

School quality

Several states use Advanced Placement data for accountability purposes, and U.S. News and World Report use data on Advanced Placement course offerings and participation to rank high schools.[47] However, studies of local school districts[48] and the United States as a whole[49] show that increasing AP participation does not increase the overall academic achievement or school quality at the group (e.g., high school, racial/ethnic group, nation) level. This led one researcher to state, "Clearly, offering AP alone will not magically turn a failing school into a successful one."[50]

See also

• Advanced Placement Awards
• GCE Advanced Level
• Education in Canada
• Education in the United States
• International Baccalaureate
• AP Examination controversy - 2020

References

1. "AP Course Ledger". AP Course Audit. University of Oregon. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
2. "A Brief History of the Advanced Placement Program" (PDF). College Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
3. "Historical Markers: Kenyon College". Kenyon College. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
4. Stanley N. Katz (March 10, 2006). "The Liberal Arts in School and College". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
5. About the College Board from collegeboard.com
6. The History of the AP Program from collegeboard.com
7. DiYanni, Robert (2008). "The History of AP Program". CollegeBoard.com. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
8. The Advanced Placement Program from collegeboard.com
9. Program Summary Report 2006 from collegeboard.com
10. AP Fact Sheet from collegeboard.com
11. AP: Frequently Asked Questions from collegeboard.com
12. "AP Exam Fees and Reductions".
13. de Vise, Daniel (April 4, 2008). "AP Language, Computer Courses Cut". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
14. Important Announcement about AP Italian Language and Culture from collegeboard.com
15. AP Online Scores
16. https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/research/2017/Student-Score-Distributions-2017.pdf
17. "About AP Scores – The College Board". apscore.collegeboard.org. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
18. "AP Central – Exam Scoring". College Board. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008.
19. Understanding AP Exams Archived September 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine from PathAspire.com
20. Multiple-Choice Scores from collegeboard.com
21. "AP Program". College Board. September 7, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2012., citing "Unpublished institutional research, Crux Research, Inc. March 2007."
22. "Guess What? Taking AP Exams Just Got Easier". ParentDish. 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
23. Finnegan, Leah (August 11, 2010). "AP Eliminates Guessing Penalty On Tests". HuffPost.
24. "Score Reporting Services". College Board. 2013. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
25. "Create a CollegeBoard Account". College Board. 2013. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
26. "List of 4-digit Institutional Codes, PDF" (PDF). Educational Testing Service. 2013. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
27. https://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/assessment/ap-memo-2018-2019.pdf
28. "AP Central - Course Home Pages". apcentral.collegeboard.com. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
29. "AP World History Revisions - Advances in AP - The College Board | Advances in AP". advancesinap.collegeboard.org. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
30. "AP U.S. Government and Politics - Advances in AP - The College Board". advancesinap.collegeboard.org. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
31. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-17/coronavirus-ap-tests-college-board
32. "AP Comparative Government and Politics: Updates for 2019-20 | AP Central — The College Board". AP Central. January 4, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
33. "AP World History: Updates for 2019-20 | AP Central — The College Board". AP Central. January 4, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
34. College Board (November 30, 2000). Access to excellence: A report of the commission on the future of the Advanced Placement Program (PDF). Author. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
35. Geiser, Saul; Santelices, Veronica. "The role of Advanced Placement and honors courses in college admissions". Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
36. Warne, R. T. (2017). "Research on the academic benefits of the Advanced Placement Program: Taking stock and looking forward". SAGE Open. 7 (1): 9. doi:10.1177/2158244016682996.
37. Sadler, P. M.; Sonnert, G.; Hazari, Z.; Tai, R. (2014). "The role of advanced high school coursework in increasing STEM career interest". Science Educator. 23: 6.
38. Warne, R. T. (2017). "Research on the academic benefits of the Advanced Placement Program: Taking stock and looking forward". SAGE Open. 7 (1): 9. doi:10.1177/2158244016682996.
39. Lichten, William (2000). "Whither Advanced Placement". Education Policy Analysis Archives. 8 (29). Retrieved January 12, 2017.
40. Warne, R. T. (2017). "Research on the academic benefits of the Advanced Placement program: Taking stock and looking forward". SAGE Open. 7 (1): 215824401668299. doi:10.1177/2158244016682996.
41. Lichten, William (2010). "Whither Advanced Placement--now?". In Sadler, P. M.; Sonnert, G.; Tai, R. H.; Klopfenstein, K. (eds.). AP: A critical examination of the Advanced Placement program. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press. pp. 233–243.
42. Tireny, John (October 13, 2012). "AP Classes Are a Scam". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
43. Zimar, Heather (2005). "Universities Raise Standards for Earning Advanced Placement Credit". SEM Source: An Update on State of the Art Student Services (January 2005). Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
44. Hood, Lucy; Sadler, Philip M. (2010). "Putting AP to the Test: New research assesses the Advanced Placement program". Harvard Education Letter. 26 (May/June 2010). Retrieved November 7, 2012.
45. Ackerman, Phillip; Kanfer, Ruth; Calderwood, Charles (2013). "High school Advanced Placement and student performance in college: STEM majors, non-STEM majors, and gender differences". Teachers College Record. 115 (10): 1–43.
46. Warne, Russell T.; Larsen, Ross; Anderson, Braydon; Odasso, Alyce J. (2015). "The impact of participation in the Advanced Placement program on students' college admissions test scores". The Journal of Educational Research. 108 (5): 400–416. doi:10.1080/00220671.2014.917253. hdl:10.1080/00220671.2014.917253.
47. Morse, Robert. "How U.S. News Calculated the 2015 Best High Schools Rankings". Retrieved August 22, 2015.
48. Lichten, William (2010). Whither Advanced Placement--now. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press. pp. 233–243.
49. Warne, Russell; Anderson, Braydon. "The Advanced Placement program's impact on academic achievement" (PDF). New Educational Foundations (4): 32–54.
50. Warne, Russell T. "Pushing students to take Advanced Placement courses does not help anyone". Retrieved August 22, 2015.

Further reading

• McCauley, David. 2007. The Impact of Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Program on College Graduation.
• Applied Research Project. Texas State University. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/206/
• Schneider, Jack. 2008. Schools' Unrest Over the AP Test

External links

• AP Student website
• Score Distributions (most recent exam)