Why Drop AP?

The reasons for moving beyond AP vary from school to school. Only one belief is shared by all of the schools listed on this site: that a locally designed curriculum better serves their students than a curriculum leading to a nationally-administered standardized test.  The most common reasons why schools do not teach AP courses include the desire to create:

A Mission-Driven Curriculum

When schools have a mission statement at the center of their efforts, questions often arise as to whether the AP curriculum is the best possible way to fulfill that mission.  Haverford School’s decision to move away from AP grew out of reflection on its mission to teach students “to think critically and communicate effectively.”  The school established a partnership with the Decision Education Foundation and revamped its curriculum to better reflect the link between critical thinking and decision-making. (See “Better Decisions – Better Lives” in Independent School magazine, Summer 2007. http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?Itemnumber=149995&sn.ItemNumber=145956&tn.ItemNumber=145958

A More Hands-On Curriculum

Preparation for an AP exam requires coverage of a large amount of factual content. Such coverage often creates an imperative for teacher-centered rather than student-centered learning. Courses that cover fewer topics in greater depth are more compatible with hands-on learning.  At Beaver Country Day School, students in “Children and Homelessness” do weekly work at a homeless shelter. In 2005-2006, students at Germantown Friends School collaborated with those at Girard College in a year-long research project examining evolutionary relationships between different organisms by comparing gene and/or protein sequences.

A More Inclusive Curriculum

In the humanities and social sciences, the AP curriculum is limited to conventional surveys such as European History, U.S. History, World History, Comparative Government, etc.  Many schools want students to pursue in-depth study of topics such as “Philosophies of the East” (Sandia Preparatory School), “The Great Divide: Race and Ethnicity in America (Scarsdale High School), “Voices from the Middle East” (Phillips Exeter Academy), and “Ethics of the Twenty-First Century” (Crossroads School).

A Thematic or Interdisciplinary Curriculum

AP courses and exams are organized around a body of knowledge in traditional disciplines. Some schools would rather teach courses organized around analytical themes that cross disciplinary lines.  Examples include “Digital Stories: Oral Traditions and Interactive Fiction” (Concord Academy), “Myth, Psychology, and Film” (St. Andrews-Sewanee School), “Global and Local Change: Critical Environmental Issues” (Francis W. Parker School), and “Algorithmic Art” (Beaver Country Day School).

Extended Off-Campus Projects

In most schools, early May is devoted to AP exams, and after the exams are over, late May and early June are of dubious value. Many non-AP schools devote the month of May to a hands-on project.  At Catlin Gabel School, graduating seniors complete a five-week-long Senior Project, which in a recent year featured one student doing glaucoma research at an eye institute and another studying shoe design at a local firm. At Scarsdale High School, students complete the Senior Options program, which consists of a month-long individual or group project that culminates in a public presentation.

A Teacher-Designed Curriculum

Many non-AP schools see value in home-grown curriculum for its own sake.  Passion for learning begins with the teacher. When a teacher designs a course, learning is a voyage of joint discovery rather than an effort to cover topics ordained by an unseen authority.  In locally-designed courses, teacher and student can share ownership of the learning process to an extent that is impossible with a standardized curriculum.