February 19^th

 

There are no new right wing columnists published in the paper today. The result of this “free day” is that I can carp about whatever conservative nonsense pleases me. Today I’ll look at the Texas board of education whose history scholars (?) are at war with the College Board’s revised United States History AP test. The crux of their displeasure is that the new AP course diminishes the enthusiasm with which high school student may view their country and particularly that republican icon Ronald Reagan. You remember Reagan, the President who just couldn’t remember whether he had traded arms to the Iranians for money to support right-wing Nicaraguan killers. The test, they claim, focuses overmuch on such minor issues as suppression of minorities and other matters that can just ruin a jingoist’s day. Moreover the test is another intrusion into the states control of education. I’ve discussed the miserable record some states have had on this issue from Governor Wallace on so I won’t go there again.

The remedy suggested by this board of education is that they will put together their own history test. Eventually we’ll have American History from the Texas perspective; from the Georgia perspective; from the “you name the state” perspective! There seems to be no understanding at all about AP courses and tests and why students take them.

There are over thirty AP courses in everything from Chinese to Statistics. Students can take these courses and the exams that follow and if their scores are high enough, usually 4 or 5, (5 is the highest score) they can get credit for that knowledge at many colleges. Some highly selective colleges  are not so accommodating; after all credits awarded for high AP scores mean fewer credits and hence less money for the accepting college. These selective colleges have all the applicants they want so credits for AP courses are unnecessary; the do still use good AP scores in their selection procedures.

What will happen to students who are trying to save tuition money by working hard and taking AP courses? If you can get three college credits for a good AP score you’ll save about three thousand dollars or more in college tuition. (College tuition of thirty thousand dollars a year usually covers a full course load of thirty credits.) Now a student from Texas decides to go to Baylor, a private college in Texas, will Texas require them to give college credit to students who do well on Texas’ version of American history; what about Georgia’s version? The can of worms opened by this nonsense is mind-boggling. I see no reason why any student would sign up for any state’s version of American history unless taking that version is required to graduate from high school—but they already have that by controlling the history textbooks!