Advanced Placement (AP) exams are administered internationally in May to assess students’ learning throughout the year in various AP courses. These tests are seen as necessary in a student’s academic journey as they show rigor, help in college admissions, and provide college credit, saving time and money for students in the future. However, the issue is that the organization responsible for these exams, College Board, has created itself a monopoly that profits from student stress and, in return, offers inconsistent benefits and serves as a flawed metric for assessing student mastery.
Despite its nonprofit designation, in 2019, College Board acquired a revenue of $1.1 billion, with AP exams constituting over $500 million in revenue alone in 2022. In 2023, the organization had $63 million in investment gains from its extra money, raising questions about its financial priorities. In 2022 the company profited over $145 million by administering over 4.7 million exams. With 28 digital exams this year, and many more to come in the future, it is becoming less expensive for the College Board to administer these tests, yet they increase the prices each year. All of this also excludes the $15 fee to send each AP score to universities.
Accessibility and equity concerns are also issues that these exams foster. With each exam costing $99 this year for students in U.S. territories, these tests are not accessible for everyone, putting less fortunate people at a disadvantage in college applications compared to those who have taken these tests. Additionally, approximately 60% of AP exams taken by low-income students did not receive a suitable score for college credit. These long and grueling tests disadvantage low-income families because they do not have equal resources for test preparation as their classmates.
Another major flaw of AP exams is the inconsistencies with college credit. All colleges have different policies, some requiring scores of 3 while others require 5 to get credit, depending on the classes. Each class has different criteria, and students can never know what they should aim for during these exams, as credit is very uncertain. In the University of California system, all schools offer credit for a score of 3, but the amount varies by subject and class level.
AP exams are not the best way to test students’ knowledge, as they promote memorization over true critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving. Other methods, such as presentations, projects, and portfolios, should be utilized to demonstrate content mastery. College Board’s dominance in the standardized testing industry creates an unhealthy environment with few other options for college admission testing.
It’s time we stopped equating success with a three-hour exam. The College Board’s profit-driven model undermines equity and learning, prioritizing test-taking over proper education. We must rethink how academic achievement is measured and who benefits from the current system to support all students.
*This editorial reflects the views of the Editorial Board and was written by Gregoire Scherrer. The Editorial Board voted 9 in agreement and 4 somewhat in agreement.
