Grade Inflation Sends AP Test Scores Soaring

College Board appears to be bowing to pressure to reduce failure rates

Ira Stoll

Education Next

In "Grade Inflation Sends AP Test Scores Soaring," Ira Stoll examines the significant rise in top scores on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, attributing the surge to the College Board’s “recalibration” of the grading system. This recalibration has resulted in a marked increase in the number of students receiving scores of 4 or 5, the highest possible scores on these exams.

For instance, in 2023, 24.1% of students taking the AP United States Government and Politics exam earned a score of 4 or 5. In 2024, that figure nearly doubled to 49%. Similarly, the percentage of students earning top scores on the AP United States History exam rose from 25.4% in 2023 to 46% in 2024. This sudden spike has raised questions about whether students and teachers have become significantly more effective or if the recalibration has simply made it easier to achieve higher scores.

The College Board claims that this recalibration aligns AP test scores with the grading standards of college courses for which these tests can earn students credit. However, the lack of transparency about this process has led to confusion and frustration among educators. John Moscatiello, an educator who highlighted this issue, points out that the recalibration undermines the stability and objective standards that AP exams are supposed to provide. He questions whether this adjustment dilutes the rigor and value of the AP program, which is traditionally seen as the gold standard in high school education.

Moscatiello also notes that the College Board has historically argued against grade inflation in schools, positioning AP exams as a reliable measure of student success. By aligning AP scores with potentially inflated college grades, the College Board may be compromising its own standards. This could erode the credibility of AP scores, making colleges less likely to trust them as indicators of student readiness, which could disadvantage working-class students who rely on AP credits to reduce college costs and time to degree.

The recalibration appears to be a response to criticism from media and public figures. Dana Goldstein of the New York Times highlighted in a 2023 article that a disproportionate number of low-income and minority students were failing AP exams. Her article argued that these students faced systemic disadvantages, such as less effective preparation and fewer resources for test prep. Following her critique, the recalibration has significantly reduced the failure rates for these students. For example, the failure rate for the AP U.S. History exam dropped from 52.5% in 2023 to 28% in 2024, and for the AP Government and Politics exam, it dropped from 50.8% to 27%.

While some analysts applaud this change for enabling more students to earn college credit, others argue it merely masks underlying educational inequities. They assert that true educational improvement should focus on enhancing the quality of instruction and resources available to all students, rather than adjusting grading standards to produce better-looking results. This trend, they warn, could lead to a devaluation of AP scores, reducing their utility in assessing student achievement and readiness for higher education.

In summary, the recalibration of AP test scores by the College Board has sparked a debate about the balance between maintaining rigorous academic standards and addressing educational inequities. While it has led to a significant increase in top scores, it raises concerns about the long-term implications for the value and reliability of AP exams.

For more details, refer to the original article: Grade Inflation Sends AP Test Scores Soaring .

Original Article

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com