What About AP?

Advanced Placement Literature and Composition

     
Though in practice and tradition the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition course (AP Literature) has often been a place of exclusion, perpetuating a dominance of English monolingualism and Western monoculturalism, the official course description actually encourages diversity in perspectives and thought. Historically, as noted by Roegman, Allen, & Hatch (2019), inequities in AP courses  have existed nationwide in relation to “race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and special education status” (p. 2).  Such inequities add to what Ladson-Billings (2006) calls the education debt as they systematically deprive marginalized students from the long-lasting benefits of AP coursework. In addition to building advanced skills and introducing students to college-level work, AP courses can prove advantageous in college admission, provide students with college credits at a cheaper cost, and increase the likelihood of graduating from university with a bachelor’s degree, especially for Black and Latinx students (Roegman, Allen, & Hatch, 2019, p. 3). Given the benefits of AP coursework and the popularity of the two AP English courses, boosting enrollment and success holds added significance. Alongside AP course availability, preparation, and enrollment practices, Mcardle and Turner (2021), who studied successful Black male AP English students, identify curriculum as a site of necessary change (pp. 4-5). 

In 2010, Miller and Slifkin published an analysis of publicly available AP Literature course descriptions and official AP Literature exams from 1999-2008 (p. 10). They found that official syllabi predominantly sported “canonical” texts, but that independent reading lists contained more contemporary choices, revealing a tendency to place value on “classic” texts (all students must read these) and marginalize contemporary literature (while good, these texts are optional) (p.10). This trend is perhaps influenced by the official exam’s third question, an open-ended prompt that asks students to make a literary argument using their year’s reading (Bender, 2022, p. 378). While the 216 texts cited in the question from 1999-2008 came from all over the world, there were only 10 texts that appeared seven or more times: nine by white authors, seven by men, five by British authors, and only two by writers from the past century (Miller & Slifkin, 2010, pp. 10-11 ). Miller and Slifkin further assert that the question 3 text lists may lead to  the prioritization of select texts, especially since new teachers and those who haven’t updated their syllabi use the exam as a “template” for creating their course (p. 11).

An updated analysis of AP Literature exams reveals little change from Miller and Slifkin’s 2010 report.  By evaluating Arilia Education’s list of the 19 most used texts on the AP Literature Exam (2021), I determined that only 32% of the cited texts were written by People of Color. Of that 32%, none of the authors were Indigenous-, Latinx-, or Asian-American authors. Additionally, none of the authors were openly members of the LGBTQ+ community. While one of the repeated texts was from the 21st century and 47% were written in the 20th century, a considerable modernization, just under half of the texts were written in the 19th century or earlier. Considering this context, it comes as no surprise that, despite their success in AP English coursework, the students in Mcardle and Turner’s 2021 study yearned for content and practices that would allow them to affirm and unpack their racial, gendered, and adolescent experiences (p. 29). In response, Mcardle and Turner promote humanizing pedagogies in AP English that aim to aid students in developing security in their own culture as well as racial consciousness, a call that rings true to Ladson-Billings’ (2021) description of a culturally relevant teacher that would bolster academic achievement, develop multicultural fluency, and build critical consciousness.  

Thus, students in AP Literature classes, like those in general ELA courses, benefit from local canons formed with regards to individual student populations (as discussed on the Centering the Margin, Embracing Youth Culture, and Creating Local Canons pages). The official AP Literature Course and Exam Description published in the fall of 2020 actually encourages the use of local canons rather than adherence to an antiquated text list, stating that individual teachers should be responsible for writing curriculum, from choosing the texts and materials to organizing units (College Board, 2020, pp. 1, 11). The course description also requires students to have studied texts from a variety of “diverse authors” and time periods by the completion of the AP Literature class (p. 117).  Additionally, the critical analysis discussed in Keeping the Classics is imperative for rigorous study that welcomes students’ lived experiences and unpacks historical context. This too is supported by the official Course and Exam Description, which recognizes that literature often contains “depictions of nationalities, religions, ethnicities, dialects, gender, or class,” and requires students “to have the maturity to analyze perspectives different from their own and to question the meaning, purpose, or effect of such content” (p. 117). 

Though anthologies used in ELA and AP courses are frequently normalizers of Western monoculturalism and English monolingualism, some modern textbooks provide teachers with more diverse perspectives. The 14th High School Edition of the Norton Introduction to Literature (2021), for example, opens with a translanguaged poem: Hai-Dang Phan’s “My Father’s ‘Norton Introduction to Literature,’ Third Edition (1981)” (Mays, 2021). The poem, which mixes Vietnamese and English to comment on a father’s life and immigration, is significant for its view of bilingualism as an asset. As emergent bilinguals and newcomer students, who are often excluded from exposure to curriculum that fosters higher order thinking, made up only 2% of students enrolled in at least one AP course in 2013-2014  (Garcia, Kleifgen, & Cummins, 2018, pp. 111, 118), the centering of translanguaging practices in the AP literature curriculum opens new possibilities for their inclusion and success in the course, embracing the knowledge and repertoires of expression that they bring to the classroom (I discuss translanguaging further on the English and Colonialism page). Thematic collections in the anthology such as “cross-cultural encounters” and “homelands” as well as “#BlackLivesMatter” and “Exploring Gender” (Mays, 2021) create further opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds to bring their lived experiences into the classroom and participate in the imperative work of identity formation. These thematic organizations, which are welcomed by the official Course and Exam Description (College Board, 2020, p. 115), offer great potential for students to build cultural fluency and critical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 2021).  I have not personally taught with this text, and there is a risk of essentializing cultures if the teacher isn’t careful, but I have observed other AP Literature teachers use this anthology in impactful ways. AP Literature teachers do their students a disservice if they do not welcome students’ backgrounds and allow students opportunities to explore their place in the world and develop critical mindsets through mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors (Reading Rockets, 2015).