| I think there is a difference between not taking an AP exam and taking it and not reporting a low score. The score has some correlation to how well the student was able to handle a college level course. It should be an indicator as to how a student will perform in a challenging environment. That said, one big difference between the AP exam and the SAT is that student performance on an AP exam has a lot to do with the quality of teaching the student received. For example, in one class (AP Chemistry) my son's teacher was on maternity leave for a few months this year. The subsitute wasn't at the same level as the teacher and I'd bet money that the scores of the group were lower than the class that had her last year without a break. One year, the school took a big hit faculty-wise in a certain department and so did the AP scores. A student can self study, but in certain courses, particularly certain science classes, it's going to be hard to make up for deficient teaching. Also, colleges receive all the AP scores in the end -- true, the student is admitted but they will see it in the end. |