Springtime is nearly upon us, and many high school seniors
are eagerly awaiting news from colleges regarding admissions and financial
aid. High school students aiming
for admission into elite colleges often enroll in Advanced Placement courses
with the hope of burnishing their transcripts and applications, preparing for
rigorous college-level coursework, and earning college credit for passing
scores on the A.P. exams. Recently,
however, colleges and universities have begun reconsidering whether to give credits
for Advanced Placement courses.
For example, earlier this year, Dartmouth College announced that it would no longer give college credit for high
scores on Advanced Placement exams.
According to the
New York Times, this change—a response to the concern that high school A.P.
classes “are not as rigorous as college courses”—will begin with the class of
2018, affecting those who graduate high school next year.
Not unexpectedly, the College Board has decried
this decision, maintaining that Advanced Placement courses expose students to,
and thus prepare them for, college-level work. According to the College Board’s recent
AP Report to the Nation,
“more high school graduates are participating—and succeeding—in college-level
AP courses and exams than ever before.” College Board president David Coleman
said, “By exposing students to college-level work while still in high school,
Advanced Placement dramatically improves college completion rates,” and he applauded
educators who have worked to bring Advanced Placement courses to more students
in more schools around the country.
Findings from the report indicated,
·
The number of high school graduates taking AP
Exams increased to 954,070, (32.4%), up from 904,794 (30.2%) among the class of
2011 and 471,404 (18.0%) in 2002 among the class of 2002.
·
The number of high school graduates scoring a 3
or higher increased to 573,472 (19.5%), up from 541,000 (18.1%) among the class
of 2011 and 305,098 (11.6%) among the class of 2002.
Whether these numbers represent better preparation for
college and the workplace is, of course, up for debate, but they do signal a
clear rise in the importance of Advanced Placement courses at the high-school
level, even if colleges doubt the academic rigor of such courses.
In
New York State, the statistics mirror the national trends, as more students continue
to enroll and succeed in Advanced Placement Exams. That is why
Long
Island Regents Prep is now offering one-day Advanced Placement Review
Courses at Farmingdale State College on May 5, 2013. Visit
www.liregentsprep.com
for more information and to
register for courses.
