INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS | HISPANIC OUTLOOK
Percentage of Public High School Graduates Who Took an AP Exam During High School, U.S Public Schools
Use all available communication tools such as bulletin boards, school newsletters websites, morning announcements, Twitter, and the school Facebook account. The campaign also offers a series of videos featuring working- class students such as Luhit Recinos, who took AP courses in high school and encourages other Latinos to enroll. Responding to Critics The drive toward more AP participation is not without its critics. John Tierney, a writer for the Atlantic magazine wrote in 2013 that although AP courses were started with good intentions, the concept has been “corrupted” and has become a moneymaking vehicle for the College Board. As someone who taught both high school and college, Tierney argued that the AP high school course “did not hold a candle” to his college-level course. He also said that “the AP curriculum prescribed a plan of study that squelches creativity and free inqui-
ry and covers too much material too quickly and superficially.” Diane Ravitch, a well-known research professor of education at New York University, has posted similar criticisms on her blog, adding that “students know that AP is far more about gaming the college acceptance process than it is learning.” When rebutting these criticisms, College Board officials offer their own body of research about positive performance outcomes of the AP program. In May 2015, the National Bureau of Economic Research released a study that showed gains in college graduation rates associated with Advanced Placement exams that lead to the granting of college credit. Although the debate about the value of AP work continues, Trevor Packer, a senior vice president at the College Board commented that the AP program stands as a tribute to the work of “teachers, students, and college professors to create and attain a much higher standard for secondary schools that has typically been the case.” •
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