NPR

4 Things We Don't Know About AP Tests

Nearly 3 million students take their Advanced Placement exams in the coming weeks. There's very little independent research on the benefits of these courses.
Source: Oivind Hovland

This week and next is a national rite of passage for stressed-out overachievers everywhere. Nearly 3 million high school students at 22,000 high schools will be sitting down to take their Advanced Placement exams.

Created by the nonprofit College Board in the 1950s, AP is to other high school courses what Whole Foods is to other supermarkets: a mark of the aspirational, a promise of higher standards and, occasionally, a more expensive alternative.

AP courses promise to be the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min readCrime & Violence
Nigeria Has Detained A Journalist Who Reported On Corruption In A Widening Crackdown
Investigative journalist Daniel Ojukwu has been arrested by police and held without charge for over a week, drawing criticism from advocacy groups over a worsening climate for independent journalism.
NPR3 min read
Tornadoes Tear Through The Southeastern U.S. As Storms Leave 3 Dead
Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could march through parts of the South early Thursday, after deadly storms a day earlier spawned damaging tornadoes and massive hail.
NPR2 min read
2 Skiers Killed After Being Caught In Utah Avalanche, Sheriff Says
Two skiers were killed and one was rescued after they were buried in an avalanche in the mountains outside of Salt Lake City that occurred after several days of spring snowstorms, authorities said.

Related Books & Audiobooks