Advanced Placement test changes make them easier to pass

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

IT’S GETTING EASIER TO PASS HIGH SCHOOL ADVANCED PLACEMENTS TESTS. 

THE TESTS – WHICH HAVE LONG BEEN SEEN AS A BOOST TO HELP STUDENTS GET INTO COLLEGE – HAVE SEEN CHANGES IN RECENT YEARS… WHICH HAVE CAUSED SCORES TO SEE AN UPTICK ACROSS THE BOARD. 

THE TESTS’ MAKER UPDATED ITS SCORING MODEL… BY REPLACING A PANEL OF HUMAN EXPERTS – WITH A LARGE-SCALE DATA ANALYSIS. 

THAT’S LED TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS MORE STUDENTS GETTING A PASSING SCORE ON A-P U-S HISTORY, EUROPEAN HISTORY, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, AND CHEMISTRY TESTS. 

THE TESTS ARE GRADED ON A 1 TO 5 SCALE… WITH A 3 OR HIGHER CONSIDERED PASSING. 

AND THE NUMBER OF PASSING STUDENTS COULD GO UP AGAIN NEXT YEAR. 

THE COLLEGE BOARD SAYS IT’S RECALIBRATING OTHER SUBJECTS STILL… INCLUDING A-P ENGLISH LANGUAGE – WHICH IS TAKEN BY HALF A MILLION STUDENTS EVERY YEAR.