Pingree students aren’t standard; why should their curriculum be?

The decision to transcend APs builds upon the bold and progressive changes we’ve made to our program over the last decade. The evolution of our daily schedule, the development of Learning Across Borders (L.A.B.), and the creation of a robust elective program are a few of the ways Pingree has adapted to ensure that our students’ needs remain at the heart of all that we do. 

As an educator, I am extremely excited by the opportunities made possible by this decision. Our students thrive in classrooms where their interests and curiosity are fostered, the coursework is relevant to their world, and they have opportunities to apply knowledge in new and novel ways. Over the last three years, an internal committee conducted exhaustive research—including collecting feedback from similar exemplary schools that elected to move beyond the AP program and from the colleges and universities that most appeal to our students. Their research affirmed what teachers have long known: the AP curriculum does not encourage students’ best learning, nor does it effectively showcase or evaluate their strengths. 

Twenty-five years ago, when teaching AP Art History, my classes often ended with, “Great question, but we don’t have time to talk about that.” In order to cover a rigid curriculum that spanned 25,000 years in one course, and to give my students the best chance at success on the test, I had to sacrifice the drivers of true education: dialogue and debate, collaborative projects, and critical inquiry. I felt forced to squander the curiosity and passions of  high-achieving students for speed and content replication. Decades later, teachers continue to express frustrations about how the AP program, in spite of its lingering reputation, actually limits both teaching and learning. 

Pingree students are bold and creative individuals, academic risk-takers, and agents for change. They are smart, passionate, and socially engaged solution-seekers. Any course that does not appropriately challenge these qualities, as well as any evaluation that fails to acknowledge the full breadth of their abilities, is an insufficient judge of their aptitude. Leveraging our independence allows us to create relevant, engaging, and meaningful courses that showcase the talents of our students in ways that are not possible through standardized testing. The colleges and universities that our students attend are encouraging us to seize this opportunity. 

We are excited about the opportunities transcending APs will create—for our program, our teachers, and the college communities that enroll Pingree graduates. But I am most excited for our students, for whom this decision offers new freedom to discover passions, stand apart from the crowd, truly flourish, and experience authentic rigor.

Sincerely,

As an independent school, Pingree has both the flexibility and the responsibility to continually evaluate our program to make sure we’re providing our students with the deep, meaningful learning experiences that best position them for success beyond high school. Chief among the reasons we chose to consider moving beyond the advanced placement program are:

We want every part of our curriculum to contribute toward Pingree’s goal for every student to have the ability to navigate complexity, become independent and imaginative thinkers, and relate with empathy to the needs of those around them. Although the Advanced Placement Program is widely considered to be the primary college preparatory program, the skills it prizes—memorization and performance on multiple-choice exams—are not those that we know serve our students well in college and in navigating the challenges of life. Moving beyond APs affords us the freedom to develop an advanced curriculum that best serves the interests of our students, talents of our teachers, and the needs of our world.

We want our program to contribute positively toward fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and healthful community.
Reconsidering APs has given us an opportunity to be thoughtful in addressing disparities created by the program, both in our students’ experience and in education at large. At Pingree, although only 25% of students take APs each year, the demands of the program affect every Pingree student. For example, offering AP tests limits the programming we can offer to all students for several weeks of Trimester 3. For those in AP classes, the pace of the course—which requires teachers to cover a highly specific set amount of content by the test date—can prevent the type of discourse and inquiry that lead to durable learning. Moving beyond APs allows us to address these issues thoughtfully and in alignment with our strategic equity, pace, and wellness goals.

We want our program to provide students with ample choice and voice.
Transcending APs aligns with the curricular initiatives over the last decade—such as the shift to trimesters and the creation of a robust elective program—which recognize the value of and encourage the use of students’ voice and choice. The AP curriculum, because of its adherence to College Board requirements regarding content coverage and test dates, limits the amount of academic freedom students can access.

Our students often enroll in AP classes to convey to colleges the strength of their academic schedule. By providing students with a wide variety of independently designed advanced courses, they will have the liberty to pursue authentic interests while also challenging themselves at the top of their abilities. An added benefit of transcending APs is that doing so opens pathways to the next phase of our curricular evolution, which will include more project-based learning experiences and integrated studies opportunities.

Beginning in 2018, Pingree School’s curriculum committee began exploring the possibility of moving beyond advanced placement courses. The committee established an internal focus group charged with examining the impact of advanced placement courses on all Pingree students’ educational experiences, other schools’ rationales and methods for discontinuing advanced placement courses, and how a choice to move beyond APs would be received by colleges and universities. 

Over the course of two years, the committee conducted extensive research, which included a comprehensive review of Pingree data, conversations with more than 15 other independent schools that moved beyond the AP curriculum, surveys of faculty, interviews with college admission officers, and more. In 2020, the curriculum committee presented its findings to the head of school and associate head of school, along with the unanimous recommendation that Pingree transcend beyond offering AP courses.

Pingree’s AP courses will be replaced by Advanced Pingree Educational Experiences (APEX), advanced courses in all departments created by our talented and innovative faculty. 

Although our current model, which includes a mix of APs and internally designed advanced courses, does not offer students opportunities for advanced coursework in all disciplines, our new, independent advanced curriculum will include courses in all departments. This will empower our students to showcase their strengths more holistically than currently allowed with a limited number of APs. Additionally, an independent advanced curriculum will leverage Pingree’s academic freedom to be more nimble, creative, and unique in our course offerings, including the addition of experiential and integrated options and offering advanced courses beyond traditional departments. Moreover, the autonomy of our advanced program will ensure that we will always have the freedom to innovate our offerings, ensuring that they remain relevant and responsive to the talents of our teachers, interests of our students, and demands of our world.

Learn more about the APEX program here. 

Our plan is ultimately to move beyond the AP entirely. Keeping our students beholden to AP exams, even after eliminating the corresponding courses, would not only undermine our work to provide students with more mission-aligned and equitable opportunities for advanced coursework, it would effectively cap the quality of their Pingree experience. Students who choose to prepare for AP tests independently would be forced to divert their attention from the advanced coursework we’ve designed to replace the College Board curriculum. Moreover, if students continue to spend several weeks in the spring sitting for AP exams, we will be unable to reclaim that time for more beneficial capstone learning experiences. 

With fewer colleges and universities awarding course credit or placement into higher-level courses on the basis of AP exam scores, the greatest appeal of AP classes to students is the transcript designation and advanced nature of the course. Our independently designed advanced courses will allow students to showcase academic rigor while also giving them the freedom to pursue authentic interests.

We have been assured by college admission officers that the absence of the AP designation will not disadvantage our students in the college admission process. Admission officers have repeatedly shared that what resonates most is when students engage in rigorous and intellectually demanding coursework in areas of interest—regardless of whether those courses carry the AP label. During our research, we also conducted interviews with other secondary schools that chose to eliminate APs; none of them reported students experiencing greater difficulty being accepted to prospective colleges and universities. In some cases, the differentiation provided a distinct advantage.

Eliminating AP courses grants Pingree the freedom to be more nimble, creative, and unique in our course offerings. It also builds students' self-awareness and affords them opportunities to discover their passions. As a result, transcending APs will better position students to identify the colleges that best suit them, as well as stand out in a field of talented candidates based on the quality and creativity of their work rather than their performance on standardized tests.

Our research has shown that fewer colleges and universities are awarding course credit or placement into higher-level courses on the basis of AP exam scores. In addition, we’ve learned that the majority of our students enrolling in AP courses are twelfth graders who want to convey to colleges the rigor of their academic schedule. This decision, though understandable, prevents our students from taking the fullest advantage of their senior year. With the increase in students applying Early Action and Early Decision, seniors find themselves locked into full-year courses when the course designation is of greatest value to them in Trimester 1. Transcending APs will allow students the flexibility to participate in a broad array of advanced single- and multi-trimester courses and seminars available to them, allowing them to showcase academic rigor while also pursuing authentic interests.

Pingree School is in good company in deciding to move beyond AP. A selection of schools that have never offered or moved away from AP courses include: 

Agnes Irwin School, Beaver Country Day, Berwick Academy, Boston University Academy, Cate School, The Chapin School, Choate Rosemary Hall, Concord Academy, Dalton Academy, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Georgetown Day School, Haverford School, Lawrenceville School, National Cathedral School, Nightingale Bamford School, Phillips Academy Andover, Phillips Exeter Academy, Pomfret Academy, Potomac School, Riverdale Country School, Sidwell Friends School, St. George’s School, St. Mark’s School, and Western Reserve Academy among others.

The colleges and universities our students apply to will not be surprised by the change to our program, as we consulted them while considering the choice to transcend APs. Every college to which a Pingree student applies receives a copy of the college profile along with the student’s transcript. This document outlines our full program, including all non-AP selective courses at Pingree (e.g., Advanced Cultural Studies, honors, accelerated, and independent studies). Additionally, the College Counseling Office maintains strong relationships with college admission officers, and outreach includes relevant program updates.

Members of the class of 2025 will not be eligible to enroll in APs before they are eliminated, but they will be the first to access our new advanced courses. The vast majority of Pingree students who enroll in APs are seniors. By the class of 2025’s senior year, those classes will have been replaced by new independent advanced courses. However, our intention is to begin offering some advanced courses prior to the class of 2025's senior year, opening options for advanced study earlier.

Below is a selection of articles that contribute to the ongoing discussion around AP courses.

Academic Rigor and College Preparedness

• Challenge Success White Paper on APs
• Prep Scholar
• Washington Post (Article #1) 
• Washington Post (Article #2)
• Independent School Magazine
• Inside Higher Ed

Diminished Value and Equity Issues

• Center for American Progress
• Psychology Today
• The Atlantic
• KQED