AP Exam Requires Students To Choose Answers Indicating Voting Laws Are Racially Biased

Maria Wheeler  August 16, 2021

The College Board has been accused of indoctrinating students in ‘woke’ politics by requiring them to choose an answer on an AP Government exam indicating voter ID discourages black people from voting.   “Nothing to see here, just an official AP Government practice exam forcing students to falsely say voter ID is racist and urging them to overturn voter ID laws in order to pass the test,” tweeted Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist.........To Read More.....

Our Group's Take:

1.  To state the obvious, this headline is extremely misleading. The AP question does not require any conclusion about whether voting laws are racially biased. It requires identifying what an infographic says, not whether what it says is true.

2.  The article brings up that exact point, and explains it pretty clearly. However, the headline isn't necessarily wrong either. The infographic that is used suggest exactly that and the "correct answer" also suggests it - that is, if the person taking the test assumes that the infographic is providing accurate information. When in fact it's not.

But most people who read things along those lines particularly coming from what is supposed to be a credible source tend to assume that the information is accurate, which would mean that the voting laws are racially biased, when actually they're not. 

 

I think it is particularly true when the reader is a teen or young adult as the vast majority of people who take the AP exam are. It would be a relatively rare kid who would assume or know that the information was incorrect. As a result, the test basically leads the kids rather badly astray. And I don't think that's reasonable for an exam like the SAT or the AP.

So while your point is technically true - and the article points that out - I think ultimately the majority of kids who take the tests are going to assume that the laws are racially biased because of that infographic. Thus the exam is in effect propagandizing the kids.

As a result, I think it is also fair to say that the AP exam is spreading propaganda or is indoctrinating students to believe things that are not the case.

 

3. My Take - I don't know if anyone else is unaware of what the AP stands for, but it stands for Advancement Placement.  Which means they're clearly attempting to indoctrinate the next level of college enrollees.