Going into junior year, I did not know what to expect from the Advanced Placement (AP) courses I had chosen to take. Before then, my experience with the College Board had been limited to the practice SAT I took as a sophomore along with the AP horror stories I’d heard from friends’ older siblings.

The first few weeks of my new classes were definitely a challenge, but now—a month into the second semester—I’ve developed solid academic habits to stay on top of my work. However, even as I’ve adjusted to an AP course load, my disdain for the College Board has only grown. 

I’ve always been drawn to the humanities, so I expected AP English Language and Composition to become a favorite course of mine. However, I now find myself dreading the class. AP Lang, as it is commonly known, is a course that focuses on writing and critical reading skills, but the formulaic essay structures taught to students completely restrict creativity. All essays are administered as strictly-timed exams, resulting in overwhelmingly mediocre writing that receives scores not based on quality, but on the College Board rubric.

This does not only apply to English classes. Other AP courses that incorporate writing, such as US History and Human Geography, also require a very standardized writing structure, and all the major tests in these courses directly mirror the final AP exam. This excessive focus on teaching students how to pass a single exam inhibits their learning of important skills (specifically in writing) that become necessary later in life. 

On a national scale, the implications of the College Board are more systemic. SAT and AP exam scores are heavily linked to parental income and race. Tests that are supposed to gauge students’ college readiness and enhance applications or resumes only end up accentuating socio-economic divides.

So why do schools continue to offer College Board services? Simply put, the organization has a monopoly over public education. Despite labeling itself as a nonprofit, the company faces little to no competition in the standardized testing and college preparation industries, allowing it to charge unnecessarily high exam fees and bring in excess revenue each year. It is clear that the College Board does not have our best interests in mind.

The company’s prioritization of profit was clearly highlighted in the recent changing of the AP African American Studies curriculum. In response to harsh conservative criticism and threats to cancel the course, College Board removed crucial aspects of the curriculum such as lessons on reparations, the Black Lives Matter movement, and critical texts discussing African American leftism. What had the potential to be an incredibly influential and important course was compromised by the College Board’s willful ignorance of social issues and thirst for money. 

Unfortunately, there is no perfect system to replace the College Board. Many students (especially those from larger public schools) rely on AP and SAT scores to measure their academic capabilities and college readiness. However, schools can and should attempt to reduce their dependence on College Board programs. More resources should be allocated to the development of new curriculums and rigorous classes that are not associated with the College Board.