The New York Times reported last month on the depressing trend tucked into a cheering statistic: Of the 5.2 million AP tests last year, 1.1 million were taken by students from low-income families. But about 60% of these students got 1 or 2 out of 5, which is very low for university grades. Worse still, the number has remained roughly the same for two decades. Meanwhile, the College Board takes in nearly $500 million annually in fees from AP tests and related subjects; About $90 million of that comes from the government, and about $37 million of that comes from the government Which It goes towards exam fees for low-income students.
The math is much simpler than anything else in the AP Calculus curriculum: More than $22 million in taxpayer money is spent each year on test fees for low-income students who graduate with a grade that is essentially failing. This does no good to the high school students in question, who leave the courses with no college credit nor, presumably, a solid understanding of the college-level material — taken together, the point of AP classes. This does not benefit the federal and state entities that transfer funds to this end. It only benefits the College Board.
The answer is not to give up on the AP system. High-achieving students tend to embrace this advanced education, so in the search for program benefits, correlation and causation are often confused. But there’s reason to believe that APs make a difference, boosting both college enrollment and graduation rates and even increasing earnings — with one very Important warning. These effects only materialize when kids not only take AP classes but also take AP tests—and do well on them.
So how can we help low-income and minority students — for whom AP courses can make the most difference — do well on tests? Simply ensuring that only students prepared for college-level work take college-level classes will not be enough. This strategy would doom students who are failed in their early years of education to be failed forever. Instead, the solution starts with the beginning of children’s education.
The goal is to identify children who have the potential to excel as quickly as possible, and then give them the support they need to do so. This would require talent screening, a practice already common among the wealthy but less common in low-income public schools. Both North Carolina and Texas recently instituted rules under which students who score at the top level on a state test in a subject are automatically placed in an advanced course for that subject the following semester. This is a smart move.
What is more important than discovering talent is nurturing it. Advanced courses that students take in the early stages of their education should be designed to prepare these students for advanced courses in later years. Some of this preparation should be content-focused; If a student does not learn algebra by the end of middle school, he or she will never be ready for calculus in high school. However, success in college-level coursework also requires certain skill sets—not just reading comprehension, for example, but systematic note-taking.
Programs already exist in some states to educate schools about preparing students to handle rigorous classes, both in the years before matriculation and during daily courses. From paid seminars for teachers to ongoing training by specialists, they are essential, and support should be directed in particular to low-performing schools. Partnerships with nonprofit organizations can help reduce costs. But the point is that the investment is worthwhile.
Money is better spent preparing students for success in advanced classes than on fees for tests they are not prepared to take. It is not about shoveling funding and effort to get children good grades in a single exam; In fact, AP, International Baccalaureate, and dual enrollment programs that allow teens to take college courses while in high school are all worth competing on their merits. Instead, the mission should be to provide students with the knowledge and confidence needed to achieve at the college level. Hence, hopefully they can do the same in college.
Improving AP test scores for low-income students is a critical issue in education today. Inequities in access to resources and support often result in lower performance on standardized tests for students from low-income backgrounds. Addressing this issue is important not only for the future success of these students, but also for the overall goal of achieving equity in education. By examining factors that contribute to low AP test scores among low-income students and implementing targeted interventions, we can work towards leveling the playing field and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to succeed academically.