Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums College Harvard drops credit for AP and IB exams

Points all well-taken. We're talking about the same kinds of institutions. Where our perspectives may differ is in fields of study.

My non-U.S. undergrad school had an outstanding economics program that consistently placed a large proportion of its graduates in the Harvard PhD program, and most of my third and fourth year professors had taught at Harvard or Princeton previously. My professors for third year microeconomics and fourth year econometrics said that they used their first year PhD syllabuses from Harvard for our courses. Even in that environment, there was nothing special about our freshman economics classes. First year economics is largely a canned course in basic concepts and can easily be re-produced in an IB/AP setting, even at terrific schools.

Now, I grant you that other subjects--particularly in the humanities-- have more variability in teaching standards that are specific to programs or professors. In those cases, departmental standards trump any external indicators. I buy that.

I am in your field. The bold part may be true but from the little bit I know about how economics are taught in k-12, it is far from being the reality.

I'm not understanding your argument. Maybe you can help me. Are you saying that IB/AP economics classes fail to even meet the standard of providing the equivalent content of a generic first year class?

Frankly, and I say this with some self-deprecation, most people with a serious chance in the field could read first year economics texts on a 3-hour bus ride and be adequately prepared for the end-of-year final.

For my second-year micro students, I used to summarize the entire course's models and proofs on 3 double-sided pages and provide copies in my first seminar. If they could derive any of the material there, they were ready for the final and were excused from further attendance. The rest is just case-specific application from a general template.

Yes. I taught economics at the university level for years. I would prefer they don't take economics at the high school level.

I do agree with you the core knowledge of at least microeconomics can be distilled into a few pages. But to be able to apply economics thinking takes much repetition. I don't think many can do what you described.