Glenn Whitmanst. Andrew's Episcopal School
AP-Gate
Glenn WhitmanSt. Andrew's Episcopal School
IN MAY 2001, students in my Advanced Placement (AP) United States History class were embroiled in a controversy surrounding the AP exam, in particular, having access to the exam's Document Based Question (DBQ) and free response portion prior to the test's administration. As good historians, the students stretched their understanding of political scandals in American history to their own predicament. Now, in addition to Watergate, Iran-Contragate, Whitewatergate and Monicagate, there was AP-gate. This story begins during the final weeks of review leading up to the May 11, 2001 AP United States History exam. As usual, the College Board had provided a fifty-year time period for the Document Based Question. The 2001 DBQ would fall in the 1920s–70s period and would be worth forty-five percent of the free-response section that also included two additional thirty-minute essays. My students and I enjoyed narrowing down the possible questions by evaluating previous DBQs from this period that are published by the College Board in Doing the DBQ. As a class we focused on the 1950s, the Cold War and Johnson's Great Society. This said, I continually reminded the students not to discount the possibility of a question from another part of the announced time period. / 1A few months after the exam, I became deeply troubled during an informal conversation with a student in the class who, half-jokingly commented, "We got away with it." While I am still unclear as to what he believed they got away with, as an educator I could not pass on asking some questions in this teachable moment. At a time in which standardized testing is expanding, and the Internet provides seemingly limitless resources for our students, dialogue about the efficacy and security surrounding standardized tests needs to be at the forefront of the standards debate. Cheating by students—and even some teachers—continues to plague the education process, especially when achievement on standardized tests is tied to a school's future, a teacher's job, salary or bonus. In the case of AP exams, it should not be surprising that students are in search of an "edge" that would enhance their scores as they apply to some of the most competitive colleges across the country. While cheating is not a new phenomenon, it takes on new dimensions due to the access to materials and ideas previously unavailable before the integration of the World Wide Web. / 2
As I probed into the student's remarks it developed that on the night before the exam, one of the students was combining college research with exam preparation and came across a discussion thread at in which the following appeared. (I would not be made aware of this specific posting until after our students took the exam.) / 3
Date: May 10, 200106: 54 PM
Author: James
"Any internationals that could tell us the DBQ and essay questions would be worshipped for many ions. The stupid Americans need help on the AP History test."
Date: May 10, 200107:39 PM
Author: Kate
"I live in California and I took the apush test today, that's weird."
Date: May 10, 200107:43 PM
Author: James
"Well what essay questions were there? I'd really like to know if you would tell."
Date: May 10, 200108:12 PM
Author: Kate
"AIM [Instant Message] me [...] and I might tell you."
While there exists some questions as to whether or not our student instant messaged "Kate" or found, as claimed, the information through another posting, in the end the student did receive information that the DBQ was on the Cold War and Eisenhower. Throughout the remainder of the evening, this information was shared with a few members of the class via phone and e-mail. The information was further circulated through the class during a required class breakfast the morning of the exam. Hearing the students talk generally about having information about the DBQ while they were involved in final preparations, I cautioned them that it was unlikely that their document-based question would be the same as any they might have heard about because I assumed that the student's information came from overseas and that the College Board must have alternative questions due to different time zones. (In fact, the source of this information was a student from a California school that administered the test a day early.) / 4
Like my students, I would not know if they had secured the actual or correct question until after the administration of the exam. However, this uncertainty did not preclude them from a focused review of Eisenhower's policies relating to the Cold War. In between bites of bagels, donuts and drinks of orange juice, students were sharing their thoughts on the military industrial complex, the Hungarian Revolution and Eisenhower's Farewell Address. As a reader of AP exams, and Faculty Consultant for the College Board, I knew that if the DBQ was—as the students believed—on Eisenhower and the Cold War, then our students would have had an unfair advantage, tainting our scores. While I am confident that my students were prepared for all possible questions on the Cold War, a focused last-minute review of the terms covered throughout the year probably brought more precision and sophistication to each student's essay, which would have raised their grade on the AP scoring rubric. / 5
After the exam's administration, a few students shared with me the question which was as follows: / 6
"What were the Cold War fears of the American people in the aftermath of the Second World War? How successfully did the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower address these fears? Use the documents and your knowledge of the years 1948–1961 to construct your response."
I immediately informed our school's assistant headmaster of this irregularity, which was followed by a brief interview of the student who made the initial discovery of the DBQ question. Contact was also made with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to see if they were aware of any postings related to the DBQ. When school resumed on Monday I joined the headmaster and assistant headmaster in interviewing students to compile a survey of what all twenty-three students in the class knew prior to taking the exam. Not surprisingly, two representatives from ETS arrived at school early in the week to interview all the principles involved as well as to conduct investigations at other area schools. / 7
In my own mind, and with the support of the St. Andrew's administration, I knew that our students' scores needed to be cancelled. Throughout all the discussions that followed the exam, I was concerned that, as one who scores the AP essays, the integrity of the exam must be upheld. At the same time, I wanted my students to have a fair opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of United States history. I believe that the AP exam, especially the DBQ, is an authentic indicator of the students' ability to demonstrate their knowledge of a prescribed period and to also demonstrate their ability to function as historians. Throughout the year, my students evaluated various primary and secondary sources in order to develop their own interpretations of America's past. By canceling the scores, I was concerned that the hard work my students put forth would never be accurately measured. In the end, ETS offered our students one of three choices: (1) Retake only the free response section; (2) Receive a full refund of the cost of the exam; (3) Have a raw score generated using only the results of each student's multiple choice section with an understanding that some colleges do not accept such scores. All but one of the students chose to retake the DBQ and free response section of the exam. / 8
What impressed me most about the students following the exam was the reaction many of them had to my request for canceling the scores. One student's e-mail confirmed my position: "I totally agree with your decision to let them [ETS] know. It has upset a lot of us but I think that each and every one of us knows that no matter what we had somewhat of an unfair advantage, no matter when we found out about the question." However, I was deeply troubled to find out in an ETS press release that only 120 exams out of approximately 200,000 that were taken had been compromised. I found this to be highly improbable. While I am continually amazed at the amount of information that can be shared through the Internet, I doubt that St. Andrew's has one of the few students across the world with the ability to have accessed information related to the DBQ prior to taking the AP United States History exam. Where were the other forthright students, as well as the schools? / 9
Not surprisingly, moral and ethical debates quickly ensued among parents, faculty and students at St. Andrew's. Questions about the culpability of each class member, appropriate disciplinary action and whether or not an alternative exam should be extended to this class emerged. The question of what constitutes cheating was raised in ethics classes and debated in the faculty lounge. The irony with respect to this incident was that the students never knew if, in fact, they were accurately informed of the DBQ question until after taking the exam. To what extent each student was culpable was impossible to determine. Depending on the student, they could have received information about the free response section anywhere from twelve hours to ten minutes before the exam. In fact, some students, by being present at the required breakfast before the exam, were merely "guilty by association." In the end, at some level, every one of the students in the class cheated but, nonetheless, still deserved the opportunity to have their knowledge of United States history and the skills of a historian fairly evaluated. / 10
This incident shows that it's worth thinking about what can be lost as well as what can be gained by the prominent role the Internet plays, not only in history classes but also throughout the curriculum. Like most history teachers, I have embraced the Web as an invaluable teaching tool that provides access to previously unattainable sources. No longer are the sources used by students limited to the school or community library. Now, a student researching the Cold War from the Soviet Union perspective can attain documents from Soviet archives without leaving their own home. But the social and cultural pressures for pre-collegiate students, especially AP students, have not changed with the advent of the Internet. "How do I get an 'A' in the course or a '5' on the AP exam?" often supersedes or shapes their desire to learn. For some students, the Internet creates an opportunity to secure information that circumvents the educational process. As the Internet becomes more pervasive, and students continue to add new meaning to collaborative learning through e-mail, discussion groups and chat rooms, ETS and the College Board need to examine the reliability of current security measures associated with AP exams. As the College Board continues to pursue its 21st century goal of broadening the range—and therefore increasing the number—of students taking AP courses, it needs to ensure that its test security matches 21st century technology. / 11
Reflections on AP-Gate One Year Later
AP-gate shaped much of my thinking and preparation in between school years. While the students demonstrated their understanding of United States history on the retake of the AP exam—twenty-one out of twenty-two students earned scores of four or better—I was curious as to what, beyond history, the students had learned. Each student in the class—who were now seniors—completed a questionnaire related to their experience and perceptions of the events surrounding AP-gate. Four questions were posed: (1) How would you respond to the student who commented, "We got away with it?" (2) Who/or what is to blame for AP-gate? (3) How did the experience shape your understanding of the importance of honor and integrity in the classroom? (4) How do you perceive the consequences of your actions surrounding the events of AP-gate? / 12Overwhelmingly, the students challenged the perception of their classmate who suggested, "We got away with it." As one student commented, "we had not been plotting a scheme in which we would cheat and find a way to 'defeat' the College Board. In fact, for most of the students, information about the DBQ inadvertently landed in our laps." A hierarchy of culpability emerged when laying responsibility for AP-gate. Clearly, the school that administered the exam early—which ignored its obligation to the College Board and ETS—is most responsible. In addition, the student who decided to share the information with a worldwide audience violated the honor code all students sign before taking the exam. What perplexed many was the motivation of the student to share his/her knowledge of the exam with an extensive audience of strangers. The students also held their classmate—who either inadvertently found, or actively sought out, information related to the AP exam—responsible for distributing the burden of possessing this foreknowledge throughout the class. Finally, the students recognized one of the biggest challenges associated with being a secondary school student: parental pressures and the highly competitive college process that leads individuals to seek an edge even when declaring themselves, as in this case, "thoroughly prepared for the exam." / 13
In response to the question on honor and integrity in the classroom, students emphasized that such learning began long before they entered my class. This accounts for the consensus shown for the school's decision to cancel the original scores while embracing the opportunity provided by ETS to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on a retake exam. As one student said, "Although this experience did not have the effect of shaping my understanding of honor and integrity, it gave me the opportunity to see these principles upheld in a situation where some individuals [and schools] may have chosen not to practice them." With respect to the consequences of their actions, many students believed themselves fortunate even to have a retake opportunity. Paraphrasing one student, "Should someone who cheated actually receive a second chance?" Some students recognized that the experience taking the exam the first time, even though it did not count, gave them a different sort of advantage on the retake exam. But most important for understanding what, beyond history, the students learned from this experience, was that every student believed there had to be consequences irregardless of the level of responsibility for securing or disseminating information related to the AP exam. / 14
The responsibility of the College Board and ETS rests on how they handled the offending school and student, and I cannot report on this. I am disturbed, however, by a recent policy change by the College Board, one that troubles many AP United States history teachers, to discontinue announcing the fifty-year period from which the DBQ would be derived (a policy in place since 1997). "A Message from the A.P. United States History Development Committee" at the College Board web site ( highlights the policy revision. One of the rationales for the change responds to the problems surrounding AP-gate: "In the past few years, as the AP Program has grown worldwide, more students are taking the exam overseas and across different time zones. Meanwhile, the Internet has facilitated increased communication among students. Given the relatively limited set of general themes taught for any fifty-year period, and the increased number of DBQs needed, the History Development Committee says it fears that, knowing the period, students may have a better chance at guessing or narrowing the DBQ topic. The Committee is concerned that continuing the old policy might give an unfair advantage to some students." An additional policy put in place by ETS prohibits students from accessing the Internet during breaks in AP testing. However, time zone differential still allows students to share their experience after completing the exam. An unrestricted DBQ range provides the flexibility to offer different questions to various time zones while also helping to better assess the skill of document analysis. / 15