In many ways, on the first day of school this year, everything went the way it was expected to. The freshmen got lost in the hallways, everyone complained about the construction, and, inevitably, someone parked in someone else’s spot. However, as seniors, juniors, and sophomores went to meet their new AP teachers, they realized something was a little different: the CollegeBoard introduced new policies, changing the way every AP class works.
Hold Up—What’s The CollegeBoard?
The CollegeBoard is the company that administers the PSAT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP Tests. It’s almost impossible to go through high school without interacting with them or paying them for a service. In past years, students in AP classes registered for AP tests around February or March, and they paid $94 per test. For students in multiple AP classes, these tests can get really expensive really quickly, so students tend to take the AP tests they feel they will perform the best on.
This year, the deadline for regular registration is November 15th, which is earlier than it’s ever been before. The price is still $94, but if a student wants to register for a test after November 15th, they have to pay a $40 late fee for every exam.
I spoke to AP students, as well as AP teachers, to gauge how MLHS reacted to these changes.
The CollegeBoard “Monopoly”
Obviously, the new policies affect students most directly, so their opinion matters most. Students overwhelmingly oppose the change, and almost no one had anything positive to say about it. Many saw it as a company that already controls a large percentage of their educational experience trying to tighten its grasp on students. Megan Beik (’20) bluntly stated: “This new policy is a scam.”
Students also had much to say about the late fee charges, especially coupled with the earlier registration deadline. Lucy Horowitz (’20) characterized it as “a shameful money grab on the part of the CollegeBoard, who already charge exorbitant prices.”
Sydney Pecarific (’20) agreed, saying, “it’s not helping the students taking the tests, only the company profiting from them.” Noah Goldfischer (’20) had a more humorous take on the situation, likening the new policy to “an Oceans 11 bank robbery, where you just get hundreds of dollars taken from your bank account without your consent.”
Others pointed out how the policy affected their choice to take AP tests at all. Jake Barnett (’20) believes that the new policy is “clearly a ploy to get kids to sign up for more tests than they need to.” Meg Hatton (’20) liked the old policy better, stating “I would prefer to sign up [for a test] in February after I can get a good feel of which subjects I am stronger in.” It seems likely that the earlier deadline will result in a decrease in the number of students taking AP tests. A lot of students share the opinion of Ryan Shanker (’20), who said that “the new deadline makes it really difficult to make a choice when I’m on the fence about an AP test.”
Student Accountability
While student opinions swung against the CollegeBoard, AP teachers had a much more nuanced take on the changes. Mr. Schutz sympathized with some students’ concerns, acknowledging that, “if [students] decide it is best for them to only take two exams (despite being successful in more AP classes), it is unfortunate that they have to choose which two in October.”
However, he did not expect the change to have a big impact on his class or drastically change the number of students taking the AP US History Exam, stating “AP U.S. has always had around 90% of students take the exam and the purpose of the earlier deadline is higher participation.”
Mr. Ziccardi, who teaches AP World History, AP European History, and AP Art History, let his students know about the new deadline on the very first day of school. While he recognized that “the late fee is just another way for the College Board to make more profits,” he also believes that the policy can be beneficial to students, “in the sense that when they register for the tests in November they will need to be a bit focused throughout the course since they’ve ‘put their money down.’”
What Happens Now?
In a school like Mountain Lakes with very high AP participation, these changes affect nearly every student. The CollegeBoard has sometimes changed their policies in response to widespread backlash from administrators and students. For example, they rolled back some of their changes to the AP World History curriculum last year after many history teachers objected. However, that seems unlikely to be the case here, especially if the new deadlines increase the CollegeBoard’s profit. In the end, the money (and the power) rests in the hands of students.
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