In a recent interview with Gabrielle Wanneh of Education Week, I discussed my Open Letter to The College Board about the 2020 Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. In my piece, I specifically highlighted the issues about the integrity of the the modified, online format, which as of Monday, May 11, thousands of students have begun taking:…
Tag: Competition
A Renaissance in the Midst of COVID-19
Educators and students, participants in the Modern American Educational Industrial Complex, are mere glimmers of the Jeffersonian ideals of “essential merit”, which historian Joseph F. Kett defines as: …merit that rests on specific and visible achievements by an individual that were thought, in turn, to reflect that individual’s estimable character…’Merit’ was that quality in the…
An Open Letter to The College Board About Advanced Placement (AP) Tests
March 26, 2020 Dear The College Board, David Coleman, CEO College Board & Trevor Packer, Senior VP of Advanced Placement & Instruction: While not diminishing the dilemma of how to continue the AP program and administer AP exams in the midst of the current global pandemic, students’ frustrations about reducing the exams to 45 minutes from…
College Admissions Is Not a Race
When choosing colleges for application, the first criteria considered is often, “Where can I get in?” Students are really asking, “How do I measure up?”, creating a competitive mindset. Then, in comparing the strength of their application to those of other possible applicants, students can generate unfounded or stereotypical conclusions, building nervous energy and aggravating…