Pinned on bulletin boards around Parker, bright red letters reading “BRING BACK AP TESTING” were anonymously placed for all to see. Parker, however, has no plan to reinstate opportunities for students to take Advanced Placement (AP) tests .
Upper School Head Cory Zeller introduced the new AP policy to the Upper School in one of her weekly briefs. Information was also shared with parents and guardians via email on September 26. “[Parker leadership] are also interested in how our students apply their knowledge and skills through Robotics, Model UN, publications, performances, independent studies, internships, etc, and how prepared they are for their college courses,” Zeller said. Zeller’s email to parents and guardians was more direct, stating “[w]e do not have AP courses at Parker and will not offer AP exams at Parker.”
Zeller indicated in her presentation that AP tests both bury the success of students’ other achievements, and AP testing doesn’t align with Parker’s progressive pedagogy or mission to “educate students to think and act with empathy, courage, and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a democratic society and global community.”
However, other well known progressive schools, such as the Park School of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland and the Bush School in Seattle, Washington, specifically highlight in their curriculum courses that meet or exceed the requirements of AP exams. Both the Park School of Baltimore and the Bush School offer AP exams for their students at their schools. The University of Chicago Lab School, which was founded by John Dewey and deeply influenced by Col. Parker, offers classes with the AP designation and provides exams on site for students who choose to sit for an AP exam.
“This is our school with a very distinct mission and pedagogy,” Zeller said during a student government town hall, “[Our mission is] student centered, experimental, flexible, relate it to the real world, [Parker] allow[s] students to create choices on work. We want intrinsic motivation and the love of learning.” Zeller says. “I don’t want teachers teaching for a test but for real life. I want them to have you genuinely engaged in learning and not to do well in tests that happen in June.”
In an email to parents and guardians, Zeller stated that “a student who is enrolled at a high school like Parker without an AP curriculum does not receive an added benefit in the [college] admission process for taking AP exams.” Parker alumni, however, expressed concern with this proposition. Parker Alumni Henry Weil, whose AP credits translated to college credits, recognizes the value of AP testing. “I didn’t have to take a math class for my major in college, and this has been really helpful for me. Instead of filling my schedule with core classes, I can pick more nuanced ones that will help me with my major and be something I really enjoy. AP’s are also really helpful to have to fall back on: if you aren’t doing well in a class but have the AP credit, you can drop a class, not tank your GPA, and not fall behind in the required credits to graduate.”
“Yeah, this policy makes complete sense,” alumnus Wyatt Chatalas said. “Why would we try to support students who are going above and beyond?”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” alumnus Mortimer Buckley said. “AP’s got me out of all required math classes. I have classmates at Indiana University who saved an entire semester and so much money as a result of their AP credits. This philosophy is cute I guess, but it’s not gonna work in the real world.”
While college credits are one reason that AP’s are important to students, senior Graysen Pendrey also emphasized the importance of AP tests for students who are applying to schools outside of the US. “If you are applying to an international school,” Zeller said, “AP’s are important. That’s a valid reason to take an AP.”
Though Parker doesn’t follow a standard AP curriculum, many students still take APs each year. From calculus to chemistry, students are eager to register to take AP’s. “I was planning on taking the AP statistics test this May. I have an older brother, so I know how beneficial AP’s can be to getting into college, receiving credits before you even arrive. I also know that some colleges, like Yale, will take AP scores instead of an ACT or SAT score. This could be really helpful for someone who really excels and specializes in particular subjects but doesn’t have the best SAT or ACT score,” junior Ayan Chawla said.
The new AP policy isn’t stopping students from taking AP’s, but instead, relocating the test and many students feel it is making the process more difficult. “I can’t take an AP test at Parker any more, which I honestly think really sucks,” Chawla said. “I have to take it at Lane Tech now, which is a school I’m unfamiliar with and probably won’t feel very comfortable in. This will also count towards my absences, since I’ll be missing school, and I don’t think it’s school sanctioned. I just don’t feel like I’m being set up for success.”
