Bloop Bloop

In 2009, high school students took a record 2.9 million AP exams. (For my readers who have been hiding in a cave for the past 50 years, AP exams are comprehensive subject-centered exams that are intended to determine college readiness.) Students take the exams in early May, and AP teachers converge in June to grade their essays.

Several of my students took the AP US History exam last month. I certainly hope they did not pen some of these hilarious lines, sifted through by this year's AP readers:

Question 2: about the factors that led to America's victory in the Revolutionary War.

-- At the time, America had the most advanced communication system in the world -- Paul Revere.

-- England viewed the colonies as nothing more than a back-talking teenager that needed to be smacked.

Question 3: about the role of slavery in causing the Civil War

-- With the end of Reconstruction, the Civil War was not far ahead.

-- Slavery was like the crazy uncle in every family - everyone acknowledges the problem, but no one wants to confront it.

-- Most western states are in the South.

-- The Misery Compromise only delayed the Civil War.

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