AP tests offer a standardized way to measure a student’s understanding of college-level material. Colleges should use them for their intended purposes by requiring AP exam scores to be submitted.
Even though universities favor rigorous course loads that often include multiple AP classes, students are not required to self-report their AP exam scores when applying for college. Effectively, students can withhold scores they don’t like and submit only those they do, creating the illusion they aced all their exams.
If a student has an A in an AP class but receives a score less than a 5 on the AP exam, they might not want to submit their score. With a high grade, this student comes across as though having complete mastery of the AP material.
Unlike AP exams, grades are far from standardized across schools, resulting in some classes being significantly easier than others despite teaching the same material. Not requiring submission of AP exam scores inequitably benefits those with easier teachers.
The average grade across nation-wide high schools has risen from 3.22 out of 4 in 2010 to 3.39 out of 4 in 2021 over the past few years, while the average ACT score has fallen from 21.40 to 20.17. Although the ACT isn’t a perfect measure of knowledge, it covers basic English, Math and Science skills, and low scores signify students are not learning material covered in school despite achieving high grades.
Two teachers who taught AP classes at Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement (IDEA) public schools admitted to “scaffold[ing] each assignment” and that “[their] lessons rarely even began to approach true AP rigor,” creating essays which underperforming students would copy word for word. Through their system, students not meeting AP standards would still receive high class grades, boosting their rankings during the college admission process.
In AP Computer Science A at our school, a student’s final grade is entirely based on classwork completion, reflection questions and projects. Sadly, these can be easy to cheat on with online resources. Some students seem to struggle to write extremely basic code in class yet miraculously submit polished projects for grading.
All AP exams, excluding Computer Science Principles, also do not require a score above 90% (a typical A) to achieve a grade of a 5. Calculus BC required just 58% and English Language and Composition required 75% in 2020 for a tester to receive the highest AP test score.
With extremely generous curves, there is no doubt that a student who cannot achieve a 5 does not have college level understanding in that subject.
Comprehensive AP exams also force students to review material they learned in both semesters, while most finals often review only one semester’s material. This helps them review prerequisite knowledge for future, more difficult courses.
For example, many students who take AP Chemistry go on to take the more difficult college courses General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, both required for admission into medical school. Both classes build upon basic chemistry knowledge learned in high school.
It’s also important to note that colleges look for work ethic as well. Having low grades with high AP scores speaks to a student’s poor work ethic and can be valuable information for colleges evaluating whether to admit a student.
To prevent rewarding students who benefit from grade inflation, colleges should require students to self-report every AP score in the application process. Having a complete view of students’ scores, colleges will easily recognize students who got away with breezing through an easy class that just so happens to be labeled as an AP class.
