Amidst the tense era in United States history that was the Cold War with the Soviet Union, education would find itself at the forefront of many worries, with policy makers concerned that high schools around the country were not adequately preparing their students for college and post-college work and studies. In other words, not enough was being done to ensure American students’ educational superiority over Soviet education, which was viewed as integral for an American victory in the Cold War.
In response, the Ford Foundation would create a fund that supported committees that studied education, specifically graduates of prestigious prep schools who would later attend universities like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Their studies would find that these individuals were taking coursework in their freshman years that was a repetition of what they had learned in high school. The committee would conclude that high school students should be allowed to take “advanced placement” coursework in college based on the results of an exam they took in high school. This led to the development of college-level classes being offered in high school, and in 1954, 27 schools administered the first AP exams. Strong results led to the implementation of ten national AP courses- covering mathematics, science, english, and foreign languages. The organization College Board has managed the AP program since. At the time, students paid a $10 dollar fee in order to take any number of classes.
Since its creation, the structure of AP exams has changed drastically. International recognition would lead to the adoption of the AP program outside of the United States, such as in Canada. And while the program has a wide array of benefits, its issues, especially regarding the disparities it perpetuates, are ever present and must be addressed.
To start, the AP program arguably favors privileged schools. The exams are most successful in schools that have more resources, such as newer textbooks or better technology. In contrast, lower-income schools receive notably less preparation. Many individual students also suffer from the lack of addressing their financial needs, even with financial aid, AP exams can cost upwards of $60. This, however, unknowingly targets minority students, who make up the majority of low-income households. Results of a study by Paula Kim-Christian and Logan McDermott show that %30 of of Black and Hispanic students enrolled in an AP course did not take the exam. Additionally, it can be seen that there is a general lack of accessibility- in the same study, it was found that of students enrolled in at least one AP course, 40 percent of English language learners and 45 percent of students with disabilities did not take any AP exams. Even with access to the exams, the rapid expansion of the program has resulted in lower preparation. College Board often pushes the program onto lower-income schools, and then does not provide adequate resources or training, which does more harm than good.
While a valuable program, it is important that College Board makes the necessary changes in order to address each student’s and school’s individual needs, ensuring that high school students across the nation can be successful, regardless of circumstances out of their control.
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