More Important Than Your AP Score Average: Does your classroom look like the hallways?

This year, my AP exam average was lower than it has been in previous years. I also consider this my most successful year yet. Let me explain why.

The AP score report presents a dangerous temptation. Early in my career, I fell for it. I boiled down everything I did for a year into an average score and a passing rate. I’m very competitive and I put a lot of energy into strategizing for those numbers to increase. I have a more important goal now: to make the benefits of AP credit accessible to more people in my community.  

As educators committed to antiracism and closing opportunity gaps in American education, we must be wary of our approach to viewing our AP test score reports. The College Board provides us with data that allows us to compare our students' performance to state and national scores, but they fail to break down national scores by race. This omission is problematic. 

Your score report does not explain that while 47% of high school students in the US are White and 15% are Black, White students are overrepresented in the group of students who take an AP exam, whereas Black students are significantly underrepresented in the group (at only 7.8%). Additionally and also not printed on your score report, 59% of White students passed the APUSH exam in 2022 with a score of 3 or higher, compared to only 34% of Black students who took the APUSH exam. 

There are roughly three times as many White students than there are Black students in the United States; however, there are 15 times more White students who passed the AP US History exam. If our society dolls out privilege by “color blind” AP US History statistics, racial inequality and the gap in the access to higher education would increase. The raw data would lead many in our society to conclude that White students have “earned” a disproportionate amount (15 times more) of the scholarships, college credit, and access to prestigious institutions than their Black peers. 

We, as AP US History teachers, fully understand when researchers explain that this gap in standardized test achievement is rooted in generations of exclusionary policies in housing, education, and economics. Ignoring race and the historical context of America when interpreting AP test scores reinforces and even legitimized racial disparities.

By solely focusing on APUSH scores without considering race, we not only fail to disrupt racial inequalities, taking a naive color blind approach to AP US History test results will exacerbate our nation’s opportunity gap. There is a history of using “color blind” standardized test data to preserve and justify Jim Crown. For example, Southern universities who were trying to preserve segregation only began to rely on SAT scores after Brown v. Board as a way to justify white supremacy in their institutions. If you haven’t read Dr. Leonard Moore’s fantastic book about teaching Black studies, check it out! He includes a description of this practice at the University of Texas in the 1960s. 

True Metrics of Success that are Not Found in Your Score Reports: Does Your AP Classroom Look Like Your Hallways?

The most valuable piece of advice I received about being an AP teacher came from Nate Bowling, a former Washington Teacher of the Year and AP Government legend, he said, “ if our main focus is on our AP score average, we will perpetuate racial inequity.” Instead, our main goal should be to ensure that our AP classrooms reflect the racial diversity of our schools. Prioritizing average scores can lead to subtle biased decision-making during enrollment, recruitment, and AP test registration, which will ultimately hinder efforts to disrupt racial inequity.

Imagine if the College Board provided data on the percentage of Black and Brown students in your school who enrolled in and passed AP History classes. At East Kentwood High School, the 7th most diverse district in the US, we have taken up Nate Bowling's challenge. We have removed barriers to AP History courses, implemented an inclusive invitation plan and have also worked hard to ensure cultural relevance in our courses. We advertise the benefits of AP to our entire community, specifically seeking out students who would be the first in their family to take an AP course. It has taken a few years, but our AP History classes now reflect our community's diversity. Not only have we seen a 300% increase in Black enrollment in AP History courses, but the scores of Black students in our community have surpassed national averages.

While I continue to use and analyze AP score reports to improve and better serve my students, measuring success as antiracist teachers must extend far beyond AP score averages.

Do you track this data at your school? Why or why not? I would love to hear your thoughts.