By State Representative Joyce Chandler (R-Grayson)
Over the past two weeks, more than 90,000 Georgia high school students took their Advanced Placement (AP) exams. For these young people, these exams are the result of the AP course experience – a year spent studying advanced, college-level academic material. Typically, those who score a 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 – 5) on these exams can earn future college credit while still in high school, which can ultimately save them both time and money. Certainly these benefits are very important to both students and parents, but as a retired school counselor, I have seen other advantages that come from taking AP courses. AP courses not only prepare students for college-level coursework, but successful completion of AP courses also instills a level of confidence in students. AP coursework also allows young people to experience college-level coursework in a more gradual, systematic manner.
AP exams are written by committees of high school and college teachers from across the country, including 11 educators from right here in Georgia. The scores students receive on AP exams are standardized and respected by both public and private colleges throughout the nation, with most institutions setting clear AP credit policies so students know exactly how much credit they can earn. In Georgia for example, Emory University offers college credit for qualifying scores on 32 different AP exams, Georgia Tech offers credit for 33, and the University of Georgia offers credit for 35 exams.
The collaboration between college faculty and AP teachers is at the core of the AP structure and has been since the program’s inception in 1955. AP’s partnership between high school and higher education helps ensure the academic material covered in AP classes is truly college-level and that AP exams are consistent and fair. Students and colleges can be confident that AP exam scores reflect accurate and unbiased assessments of a student’s mastery of college-level coursework, which could be the reason why students who take AP courses seem to be better prepared for college than their counterparts. Repeatedly, I hear of college students who say that they were well prepared for college because of their AP courses.
Students further benefit from the unique AP teacher community. Each summer, tens of thousands of AP teachers attend locally run, subject-specific AP Summer Institutes (APSI) where they exchange ideas and information about AP courses and exams. This summer, more than 150 APSIs will be held across Georgia. The dynamic online AP teacher communities also allow AP teachers to discuss teaching strategies, share resources and connect with each other year-round. All of this collaboration leads to better classroom instruction.
The results speak for themselves. When compared to non-AP students with the same educational characteristics, AP exam-takers who score a 3 or higher generally perform as well or better in subsequent college courses. Additionally, these students tend to achieve higher college graduation rates and earn higher college GPAs in both subject-specific fields and overall.
Last year, more than 90,000 AP exams taken by Georgia students earned a score of 3 or higher, including nearly 14,000 AP exams taken by students whose parents’ highest level of education is less than an Associate’s Degree and nearly 12,000 taken by low-income students. Indeed, the number of low-income students participating in AP has grown significantly, considering that in 2005 only about 2,000 low-income students in Georgia took an AP exam, while nearly 21,000 did in 2015.
For so many of these students, AP classes are their introduction to college-level work, and, by extension, to college itself. Because AP courses are taught by teachers who collaborate with each other as part of a larger teaching community, and because AP frameworks and exams are developed by committees of high school and college educators, this is a rich, engaging, and challenging introduction to college-level material.
To begin college with 15 to 30 or more hours of college credit, young people are often able to receive not only a bachelor’s degree in four years, but even a master’s degree. I have personally known a number of students who have been able to begin college as sophomores or juniors due to their AP scores. When one considers the advantages that students have from taking AP courses, it is easy to see that all young people who have the academic background to take AP courses would certainly benefit from doing so. AP coursework allows young people to experience college-level coursework in a gradual, systematic manner, in addition to providing a level of confidence that success in AP courses brings students; however, these are just a few of the many advantages that the AP program provides to students who choose to participate in these exciting and challenging high school courses.
Representative Joyce Chandler represents the citizens of District 105, which includes portions of Gwinnett County. She was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2012, and is currently serving on the Education, Higher Education, Juvenile Justice, and Regulated Industries committees.
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