Did you know the State Board of Education evaluates its own process and performance?

I was on the State Board of Education website today and found the State Board of Education Procedures Manual. On page 8 of this manual, it goes over how the State Board will be evaluated. They have no evaluation process, they apparently monitor themselves.

Evaluation The Board will monitor its own process and performance to ensure continuity of Board improvements, integrity of Board actions and progress toward Board goals. The Board will be accountable to the public for competent, conscientious, and effective accomplishment of its obligations as a Board. The Board may seek the input from others regarding the effectiveness or impact of Board initiatives as part of the evaluation process, and may utilize the services of an independent consultant in doing so.

AP Courses, Are DE Students Actually Receiving College Credits?

Governor Markell gave his final State of the State address on Thursday in the House Chambers. In his speech, he spoke about AP courses —“We have made more rigorous courses available. Delaware students are taking and passing 1,000 more AP exams than four years ago.” The question that I would like answered, how many of those AP credits are actually counted at the colleges Delaware students attend?

As Governor Markell stated more Delaware students are taking and passing AP tests every year, a passing score is 3. See College Board for more information. Parents and students are under the impression that if you pass the AP course exam their child will receive college credits, that is not necessarily true. Many colleges require a 4 or a 5 in order for a student to earn college credits and that is not being explained to families. Families have to pay about $92 for each AP test. Here is the University of Delaware AP Credit List, you will see that in order for a student entering the University of Delaware, a student must score a 4, in most cases, in order to earn college credits. Parents are paying for the AP courses and then paying for college.

Bucknell University AP Credit List

Cornell University AP Credit List

Duke University AP Credit List

Penn State AP Credit List

University of Pittsburgh AP Credit List