This year, about 500,000 more students across the nation are projected to score a 3 or higher on their AP exams.
At first glance, this sounds like fantastic news. But, not everything is as it seems. Let’s dig a bit deeper:
According to Macro Learning, the advanced high school program, which offers college credit upon a passing exam score, “is undergoing a radical transformation.” Dubbed the “Great Recalibration,” the College Board – which administers the AP program – is not only deliberately increasing student scores, but it has also completely flipped the pass-fail ratio for certain tests.
AP English Literature is one of nine different exams that have seen an upward recalibration, showing a rise in average scores and passing grades. On the AP US History and AP US Government exams, more than two-thirds of students scored a 3 or higher this year (with 3 being the minimum passing score), compared to around 50% of students in 2018.
In other words, while there is no evidence suggesting that students are more knowledgeable than in previous years, AP test scores are reflecting huge performance leaps.
This cannot be overlooked. If we lower our expectations for student knowledge of American history, government and politics, or willingly mislead ourselves about their true understanding, the consequences could be dire. The same goes for reading, science and math.
AP classes and exams are meant to prepare students for college and simulate the rigorous learning environment expected in higher education. When standards are lowered too far, not only is the predictive data skewed, but students arrive to college less prepared and may have the wrong expectations about what’s required to succeed.
The College Board has publicly discussed that scores were previously misaligned with equivalent grades in higher education. In other words, the scores that students earned on their AP exams did not match how they would go on to perform in college. Some argue that the Great Recalibration is overdue in many subjects for this reason, but others are not convinced.
Additionally, dual enrollment programs and participation in the AP program are rapidly growing, promoting action from the College Board to make the exams more accessible. Instead of ensuring that students who enter the program perform at that notably high standard, “It seems that nearly all of the recent changes to AP Exams are tending in the direction of simplification.”
Some benefits of the recalibration include financial bonuses for educators and more college credits for more students. But, again, it is up to us to ask whether granting college credits is the right solution if students are not any more knowledgeable.
In any case, the College Board has been unclear in their guidance and has lacked transparency in their research. Their implementation of the Great Recalibration is drawn out over years, which is too slow to promise a unified change across the board for current high school students.
The North Carolina state motto is esse quam videri, which translates as “to be, rather than to seem.” Changing the testing standards so that students “score higher” is not a solution, because it only seems as though they are improving. If we truly want to elevate student achievement, we must better prepare them to learn and apply the information.