Giving Compass' Take:

• A pilot program that moved AP exam registration dates from the spring to fall showed noticeable increases in performance on the tests, specifically from low-income minority students. 

• Some teachers mentioned that changing the date improved AP equity. How can administrators make more decisions that center on building educational equity and strengthening student agency?

• Read this piece on whether or not AP exams are even valuable. 

Registration for Advanced Placement (AP) exams will move to Nov. 15 beginning this fall — instead of the traditional spring date — based on the results of a pilot program showing that fall registration especially increases the rate of low-income and minority students earning a score of three or higher, the College Board announced today.

“This simple move of shifting the registration date to the fall sped up the work of AP equity by seven years,” Trevor Packer, senior vice president of the AP program, said on a press call Tuesday.

The change, which will be accompanied by an array of new instructional resources available to AP teachers and students, comes as results showthat more than 1.24 million seniors in the class of 2018 took a total of 4.22 million exams — an increase of 65% over the past 10 years. Over that same time period, the percentage of students earning a three or higher — the score needed to earn college credit — has increased by 63%.

The College Board conducted the registration pilot after hearing that roughly 50% of high schools — about 9,000 nationwide — were already moving their registration dates to the fall.

The pilot showed that teachers began to view all of their students as having the potential to earn college credit instead of just those who signed up for the exam in the spring, Packer said. “It really helped us to all work toward a common goal together,” she said.   The pilot also showed that students were more likely to persist when they encountered more challenging material in the course. “It calls them to throw themselves into the work,” Coleman said.

Read the full article about AP participation by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive