By Jack Peng, Website Manager
Beginning this new school year, College Board, a non-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity, has revised the scoring and deadlines of Advanced Placement (AP) classes. The AP exam is a test a student takes to get college credits for taking a college-level class. Starting the 2019-2020 school year, the AP exams have been slightly modified in terms of scoring and registration deadlines. The AP exam is graded on a 1-5 scale; students can pass with a score of three, four, or five allowing students to “skip” the subject in college. For the 2019-2020 school year, the AP exam is priced at $94, but if one registers late or cancels their exam, it will cost an additional $40. The deadline for the 2020 AP exams is November 15th, with the previous deadline lying in late March. The AP exams will, as usual, take place within the first full two weeks of May and students must pay their fees by June 15, 2020.
For the 2020 AP Exams, College Board chose to change the deadline to November 15th because more students seem inclined to take the AP exam. According to College Board website, “Moving the time of registration made a difference across the board, but it had the strongest effect for students who are traditionally underrepresented in AP [classes].” Middle or high-income students (majority) got an increased 4% in scores more than or equal to three, while low-income students (minority) increased by 20% in scores. Moving the date means that College Board can implement new classroom tools in instructional support, progress checks, and more practice exams.
A teacher expressed their thoughts about modified exams especially the AP Language and Composition essay which changed from a 1-9 grading scale to a 0-6 scale, shortening the score for strong writers. AP Language and Composition teacher, Mr. Dwyer, voiced his thoughts on the new AP scoring changes: “It [the new scoring] is going to lessen the reward for the best writers because it collapses the 8’s and 9’s into 6’s.” Stronger writers can only receive a 5 or 6 with this new scoring change, rather than an 8 or 9.
The AP exam is important to many students; it is a way to show colleges that the student knows the subject well enough to “skip” the introductory class when they enter college. While it is not required to take an Advanced Placement class, teachers and counselors recommend students to challenge themselves if they believe they can do it. Taking the AP exam for a class is simply another level to this system.
