Gov. DeSantis versus the College Board, Rounds One and Two

Luis Martínez-Fernández
Fri, 17 Feb 2023 21:00:00 -0800
Opinion

"What the (expletive)?" That's how one of my University of Central Florida colleagues reacted when she walked into a Wawa and saw a copy of Tuesday, Feb. 14's Orlando Sentinel, its front-page headline reading: "DeSantis Ponders Ending AP Classes for Florida Students."

When we ran into each other later that morning, she shared the news and her reaction. We shook our heads, not in disbelief but dumbfounded, as we know that in our home state of Florida anything can happen.
Updated: Sat Feb 18, 2023

"What the (expletive)?" That's how one of my University of Central Florida colleagues reacted when she walked into a Wawa and saw a copy of Tuesday, Feb. 14's Orlando Sentinel, its front-page headline reading: "DeSantis Ponders Ending AP Classes for Florida Students."

When we ran into each other later that morning, she shared the news and her reaction. We shook our heads, not in disbelief but dumbfounded, as we know that in our home state of Florida anything can happen.

"Nobody elected them to anything," said DeSantis of the College Board on Monday, in an apparent attempt to escalate his bout with one of the nation's most prestigious and influential education institutions, which besides Advanced Placement courses offers the SAT exam and a host of other educational services.

The first round in the match between the state and the College Board became public in January, when the Florida Department of Education sent a letter (someone leaked it) to the College Board saying that the new AP African American Studies course being piloted "lacked educational value," adding that they would consider a revised edition of the course. State officials falsely took credit for forcing the College Board to make changes that appear in an updated version of the course. They ended up blocking the course from public schools, anyway.

This episode reminded me of an email I received back in 2014 from a reader of the conservative American Thinker online magazine who was prodded by the article "College Board Erases the Founding Fathers," on the then-new U.S. History AP course. Its author warned that the College Board would be "directing the teachers of America to instruct your children and mine that the USA is the land of the imperialist and the home of the racist."

With the curious "Ten Years of Thinking" tagline, the magazine suggested several action points, among them a boycott of the course, writing letters of complaint to governors and state and elected officials, and "tell your state representatives that they should require each member of the College Board's Board of Trustees who is a public employee to renounce the new AP U.S. History course curriculum and vote to abolish it as condition of his or her continued employment." Because I was serving at the time on the College Board's Board of Trustees, my name and work affiliation were included on the article's list of public officials, which explains why I got that email. The American Thinker is still published, which means that they now have 19 years of thinking. But who's counting?

Emboldened by what is being touted as a first round victory against the newest (and arguably most vulnerable) AP course, DeSantis is signaling his intention to go after the entire roster of AP course offerings, leveling a not-so-veiled threat to end the state's relation with the College Board. "There are probably other vendors who may be able to do that job as good or maybe even a lot better," he said on Monday.

It is not my intention to pick a fight with DeSantis, who according to one of my colleagues, a Florida history expert, has amassed more power than any other Florida governor since the Civil War. But it's my duty to speak on behalf of our public-school students, many of whom will end up enrolling at my university and other units of the state university system.

Here is what I have learned. The College Board is a serious organization with thoughtful and committed leaders who have the best interests of students at heart. It was founded in 1899 with the mission of expanding access to higher education. The AP program emerged in the midst of the Cold War in response to fears that American students were lagging behind Soviet students. In 1952 it began offering college-level courses to high schoolers.

The AP program has since become the gold standard for rigorous and intellectually stimulating instruction and college readiness. As a longtime university professor, I can attest to the superior skills, including critical thinking, creativity and effective written communication, that AP students bring to college. When I encounter a good-quality, well-crafted paper, I often ask the author if he or she took AP courses. Almost always, they say yes.

According to the latest SAT scores report, Florida ranks 42nd. Rather than restrict or ban access to AP courses, the state needs to expand it lest we drop further into the rankings basement.

Luis Martinez-Fernandez served on the College Board's Board of Trustees (2009-2015) and was a member of the team of scholars who produced the framework for the current U.S. History AP course. His book, "When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Events of 2019-2022," came out on Feb. 15. To find out more about Luis Martinez-Fernandez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com.