AP Inequities Examined

Two articles in The Dallas Morning News examine issues related to the increased emphasis on Advanced Placement courses at many high schools, at a time that the College Board has encouraged many more schools to participate in the program. One article notes that as the program has grown in Texas, students in the state now fail more than half of the final exams in the program. (Defenders of the program note that, as the program reaches more high schools, and not just those with the best programs and students, the failure rate is bound to rise, and that the courses may still be raising the rigor of these schools.) The second article notes that, even with the expansion, vast gaps exist in the availability of the courses at high schools.