I can only speak as someone who has gone through (the pain that was) High School, including many AP courses but I have to strongly disagree with this article.
> I usually use phrases like "society doesn't trust" but let's personalize it this time – for parents, think about whether or not you trust your kids teachers? Do you a large private, unaccountable organization more?
In my experience College Board is infinitely more accountable than any of the teachers. The AP tests are graded anonymously, with graders blinded to student and school. I've literally had teachers give me different credit for nearly the same work as another student because they "just didn't get the feeling I understood the material" or some thinly veiled attempt at saying the didn't like me. Looking back I wouldn't trust some of my teachers to wash my car let alone determine my future.
> You trust your child's teacher with your child's well being every day but you don't trust him to say whether or not your kid knows calculus?
If your kid can't take care of his own well-being by High School you've failed as a parent. If you think it's your job to take care of your student's well-being, you've failed as a teacher. You're supposed to teach them, not change their diapers.
> Then you teach the class and in May, one to two months before the end of the semester the kids take the AP exam - you don't see results until the summer.
This is the only point I can partially agree with. Having your entire score come down to one test adds a lot of variables, but in the age of testing this isn't just limited to APs. Thankfully there's enough data you send to college that a single bad data point doesn't hurt too much. And if you really understand the material, retaking a course isn't that bad.
> I usually use phrases like "society doesn't trust" but let's personalize it this time – for parents, think about whether or not you trust your kids teachers? Do you a large private, unaccountable organization more?
In my experience College Board is infinitely more accountable than any of the teachers. The AP tests are graded anonymously, with graders blinded to student and school. I've literally had teachers give me different credit for nearly the same work as another student because they "just didn't get the feeling I understood the material" or some thinly veiled attempt at saying the didn't like me. Looking back I wouldn't trust some of my teachers to wash my car let alone determine my future.
> You trust your child's teacher with your child's well being every day but you don't trust him to say whether or not your kid knows calculus?
If your kid can't take care of his own well-being by High School you've failed as a parent. If you think it's your job to take care of your student's well-being, you've failed as a teacher. You're supposed to teach them, not change their diapers.
> Then you teach the class and in May, one to two months before the end of the semester the kids take the AP exam - you don't see results until the summer.
This is the only point I can partially agree with. Having your entire score come down to one test adds a lot of variables, but in the age of testing this isn't just limited to APs. Thankfully there's enough data you send to college that a single bad data point doesn't hurt too much. And if you really understand the material, retaking a course isn't that bad.