AP, SAT, and the College Board (with David Coleman)

The College Board is one of the most influential education organizations in America: The SAT plays a large role in determining what college many students attend, and the AP program shapes what many students study both in high school and in college.

This is a lot of power for one company to have, and naturally raises some questions. How does the College Board understand its role in the college admissions process, and how does it think about the college admissions landscape? What is the purpose of the AP program, and who determines what gets made into an AP course?

On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus discusses these questions, and more, with David Coleman. Nat and David discuss why many colleges are requiring the SAT once again; the effects of test optional policies on boys; how the rise of AI affects the college admissions process; why high school students are so bored; how to make college admissions less cutthroat; whether we should abolish grading and replace it with standardized testing; AP scoring recalibration; whether 6 and 7 should be added to the AP scoring scale; the redesigned SAT; how the AP program balances its goals of promoting access and encouraging excellence; and the extent to which the College Board determines what gets taught in American classrooms.

David Coleman is the CEO of the College Board.