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| College Board AP Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | College Board AP Program |
| Established | 1955 |
| Type | Academic program |
| Parent | College Board |
College Board AP Program
The Advanced Placement program provides college-level curricula and examinations to high school students nationwide, aligning with standards used by institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Princeton University. It connects secondary schools, college admissions offices, and scholarship organizations like the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and the Fulbright Program through standardized assessment widely recognized by institutions including the Common Application, the Ivy League, and the California State University system. The program’s examinations and policies intersect with accreditation bodies and education policymakers such as the U.S. Department of Education, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and state departments like the New York State Education Department.
The program offers more than fifty distinct courses in areas represented by institutions like Yale University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University. Courses range from humanities subjects tied to collections at the Library of Congress, to sciences connected with research centers such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, and to mathematics pathways referenced by organizations like the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. Advanced Placement exams are administered in spring at locations including public schools, district testing centers, and international sites affiliated with networks like the International Baccalaureate Organization and the British Council.
Origins trace to postwar initiatives in the 1950s when institutions including Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Yale University, and Stanford University sought to accelerate talented secondary students, paralleling reforms influenced by reports from commissions such as the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education and the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The program expanded during the 1960s and 1970s with partnerships involving state systems like the California Community Colleges System and research projects led by organizations such as the Educational Testing Service and the Rand Corporation. Later reforms engaged higher education associations such as the American Council on Education and accreditation conversations with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Higher Learning Commission.
Course frameworks are developed with input from faculty at institutions like University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, Duke University, and Brown University and reviewed periodically alongside standards produced by organizations such as the National Council for Teachers of English and the National Science Teachers Association. Subject syllabi include discipline-specific content from primary works like The Odyssey, Hamlet, On the Origin of Species, Principia Mathematica, and The Republic and connect to methodologies used at research centers like the Salk Institute and museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Laboratory and portfolio components reference alliances with facilities such as Smithsonian Institution programs and curricular models used by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Examinations are scored on a five-point scale that colleges such as University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and University of Melbourne commonly use to grant credit or advanced placement. Exam formats include multiple-choice sections, free-response prompts, performance tasks, and portfolio assessments informed by test design research from groups like the Educational Testing Service and psychometric analyses published by the American Educational Research Association. Score distributions, methods of equating, and rescaling practices have been topics of study involving scholars from Teachers College, Columbia University and policy units at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Administration involves collaboration with school districts such as the Los Angeles Unified School District and Chicago Public Schools, independent schools including Phillips Exeter Academy and Choate Rosemary Hall, and international schools tied to consortia like the Association of American Schools in South America. Eligibility policies interact with admissions standards at colleges including Georgetown University, Rutgers University, and University of Texas System, and with scholarship criteria from entities such as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and private foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Test-day logistics, accommodations, and security procedures are coordinated with disability services offices at institutions like University of California, Los Angeles and legal frameworks shaped by statutes including state education codes in jurisdictions such as California and New York.
Efforts to expand access have involved partnerships with organizations such as College Possible, UNCF, Teach For America, Khan Academy, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support underrepresented students who attend schools in districts like Baltimore City Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools Community District, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Fee reduction, exam subsidy programs, and teacher training initiatives coordinate with state boards like the Texas Education Agency and nonprofit initiatives run by groups such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Lumina Foundation. Research on disparities uses data from the National Center for Education Statistics and policy analyses by the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress.
Critics have engaged institutions and policymakers including researchers at Princeton University, commentators at The New York Times, and advocacy groups such as the Economic Policy Institute to examine issues of access, alignment with higher education curriculum at universities like Brown University and University of California, Berkeley, exam security incidents reported in districts like Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Gwinnett County Public Schools, and the role of test preparation industries connected to providers including Kaplan, Inc. and Pearson PLC. Debates have also referenced court cases and legislative scrutiny in states like California, Florida, and New York and engagements with academic bodies such as the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association.