Thread: Another great example of the arrogance of @CollegeBoard
First, I know we are all stressed, both from a mental and a systems standpoint. We're all trying our best to make this as good as it can be.
I get that. I really do.
I get that. I really do.
But CB says it ran the idea of "reduced instruction time/45-minute take-at-home-exams" past colleges. I've asked far and wide, and have not gotten confirmation from a single colleague they've been asked. Everyone I've asked has said, "not me."
So perhaps they ran it past their cronies, who, in the words of Ted O'Neill from UChicago, "suckle at the teat of the College Board," which of course would be archetypal College Board behavior.
Listen to your fans; ignore criticism. Imply all college exams are "open book."
Listen to your fans; ignore criticism. Imply all college exams are "open book."
I'd just ask them to tell us who they talked to, so I can ask those people: WTF were you thinking?
Even if they did talk to EM people, we're not in the business of awarding credit. That's the job of the faculty at every university I've worked at.
Even if they did talk to EM people, we're not in the business of awarding credit. That's the job of the faculty at every university I've worked at.
Except, of course, where it has become the job of the legislature, where CB lobbying has ensured the statehouses mandate credit for AP exams.
Because the state is paying for them, sometimes. Because CB lobbied for that, too.
In the name of "access." Get it?
Because the state is paying for them, sometimes. Because CB lobbied for that, too.
In the name of "access." Get it?
College Board has brilliantly shifted the burden to colleges. They can say, "We offered the exam and are giving you a grade, which we're sure (how?) will be the grade you would have received if you'd taken the entire course and sat for the original exam.
"So, if we say it's the same, but your college won't give you credit, blame them."
Meanwhile, they deposit the checks just as if nothing had happened.
Damn good business model.
Meanwhile, they deposit the checks just as if nothing had happened.
Damn good business model.
There is a contingent of people who say, "The students worked so hard, it's unfair not to give them a chance to earn credit."
I get that, too, and I agree with it.
I get that, too, and I agree with it.
But think more broadly: What about the student who gets a grade in Calc AB and gets dropped into second semester of Calc for which they're totally unprepared, based on a bad, hastily constructed exam process?
You won't see the flotsam and jetsam of this decision. Colleges will.
You won't see the flotsam and jetsam of this decision. Colleges will.
And universities won't want to fight state legislatures on this because it will make them both look bad.
But here's the deal. I'm no lawyer (that sound you hear is all the lawyers out there like @ArtColemanDC saying, "no kidding.") but it seems to me CB has broken a contract.
But here's the deal. I'm no lawyer (that sound you hear is all the lawyers out there like @ArtColemanDC saying, "no kidding.") but it seems to me CB has broken a contract.
The states and the universities who agreed to accept AP credit did so with certain conditions, based on they syllabus, the exam, and the security of the test.
All those things are changed, and they can't change the terms of a contract unilaterally.
All those things are changed, and they can't change the terms of a contract unilaterally.
You can't agree to buy a car, then have the dealer deliver a horse and buggy and say, "We now call this a car, so we're good. Pay up."
I wish I didn't believe revenue was driving this CB decision. Maybe it's not, fully. But I guarantee you it's a big part of it.
I wish I didn't believe revenue was driving this CB decision. Maybe it's not, fully. But I guarantee you it's a big part of it.
It's just another example of how a "Membership Organization" really isn't.
Are you a member? Speak up.
Are you a member? Speak up.
Oh, and #EMTalk
