In proposing that the University of California require only those tests that assess mastery of specific subject areas rather than notions of “aptitude” or “intelligence,” Atkinson said, “Actual achievement should be what matters most.” Atkinson singlehandedly reversed a trend started by Harvard President James Conant in the 1930s, who felt that students should be judged on what they could make of the opportunities presented to them by a first-rate college education instead of how well they already had done at Exeter or Andover or at a few other favored East Coast boarding schools. In 2006, the UC Regents approved a new policy requiring students seeking admission to take either a SAT I or ACT test — both of which excluded analogies!
The real problem I have with UC admissions is that too much weight is given to Advanced Placement courses. Three students at North Hollywood High School readily accepted at UC Berkeley (one of whom instead choose Stanford) had successfully completed 22 AP classes with 4s and 5s. (I know this for a fact, because I was offered a job teaching English there.) The overwhelming majority of students at high schools elsewhere in California or other states simply don’t have the same opportunity because fewer AP classes are available.
On Jan. 23, 2012, the American Council on Education called for universities to renew efforts to make college degrees more attainable by expanding the use of previous coursework, including the College Board’s Advanced Placement examinations. Educational behemoths like UCLA have notoriously long wait lists for introductory courses. And having such coursework accepted certainly reduces the clutter. Yet faculty members remain skeptical of the APs educational merit; Dartmouth College’s department of psychological and brain sciences discovered that 90 percent of students who had passed the AP psychology examination failed the department’s own test to place out of Psychology I.
Tanay Kothari, currently a sophomore at UC Berkeley who mastered 13 AP courses and exams while in high school, plans to graduate in two and a half years. This plan could ultimately save Kothari a year and a half’s worth of tuition.
Over the five years from 2007 to 2013, increases in public four-year tuition and fees ranged from 2 percent in Maryland ($176 in 2013 dollars) to 72 percent in California ($3,923). Kothari said although he is grateful for having the ability to expedite his undergraduate degree, he nevertheless agrees with Dartmouth’s decision to no longer accept the credits.
“Those Advanced Placement courses did benefit me a lot and are clearly helping me graduate early, but I would agree with Dartmouth’s view,” he said. “It’s a good idea in theory and helps high school students get prepared, but it’s not a proxy for what you learn in college.”
— Richard Thompson
Alumnus ’83
