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Is The Advanced Placement Program A 'Scam'?

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Students work during an Advanced Placement government class at the Academy for College and Career Exploration in Baltimore. (Patrick Semansky/AP)
Students work during an Advanced Placement government class at the Academy for College and Career Exploration in Baltimore. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

In 1955 a group of colleges and elite high schools founded the Advanced Placement program. The idea was to give talented students a bigger challenge and possibly skip introductory courses once they got to college.

AP grew to be a huge hit, with nearly one-third of U.S. students taking AP classes during the 2010-2011 school year. Massachusetts ranks 4th  in the nation when it comes to the percentage of students enrolled in AP.

But John Tierney says the AP program has become a rat race, a creativity killer and a money making machine for the College Board, the group that administers the program.  Tierney joins Radio Boston to explain why he thinks the AP program has become corrupted.

Guests:

  • John Tierney, former political science professor at Boston College; taught high school for 10 years
  • Rebecca Lewis, AP science teacher at English High School in Boston

More:

This segment aired on December 12, 2012.

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