Addressing the Cancellation of the French AP Literature Exam

Author(s): Anne Jensen

Source: The French Review, Vol. 82, No. 3 (Feb., 2009), pp. 610-614
Published by: American Association of Teachers of French
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25481624
Accessed: 20-04-2019 23:50 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

American Association of Teachers of French is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,

preserve and extend access to The French Review

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 The French Review, Vol. 82, No. 3, February 2009 Printed in U.S.A.

Addressing the Cancellation

of the French
AP Literature Exam

by Anne Jensen

Un 3 April 2008,1 received an E-mail sent to all French Advanced Place

ment teachers throughout the country. The E-mail began with the posi
tive announcement that during the next several years the College Board
would be increasing support of AP world language and culture pro
grams by providing downloadable assessments, curriculum modules,
and online score reports. I knew that over the past several years College
Board has been working to bring more consistency and uniformity
among all the world language exams and align them more closely with
the National Standards, so this news seemed very positive to me. How
ever, the last paragraphs of the E-mail contained the shocking news that
the May 2009 exam administration would be the last offering of the
AP French Literature Exam. A small footnote at the very bottom of the
E-mail announced that AP Latin Literature, AP Computer Science AB,
and AP Italian would also be discontinued.
As a French AP Language and Literature teacher of over twenty years, I
was shocked and dismayed at this news. Within a matter of a few hours I
began receiving E-mails and phone calls from colleagues throughout
California and the United States who had received the same surprising
news. I immediately notified all the American Association of Teachers of
French (AATF) chapter presidents in Region IX and asked that they share
this disturbing news with their chapter members. After contacting every
one in my region, I called Jayne Abrate, Executive Director of AATF, who
informed me that she had just gotten the announcement as well. No one
in any leadership role in the French teacher community or larger foreign
language community had received any prior knowledge of this decision.
As I began to dig deeper I found out that even the AP French Literature
test development committee was not directly involved in this decision.
Why would an important decision like this be made without any input
from the teachers who teach this course? The AP French Literature
required reading list had just changed in 2007-2008 adding three new
works and eliminating others. This change required all teachers to rewrite
610

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
CANCELLATION OF AP LITERATURE EXAM 611

their course syllabus for a required audit and to prepare and purchase
new materials. None of the AP French Literature workshops or seminars I
had attended during the past year had mentioned anything about the
elimination of the program.
The next day I shared the news with my students in French AP Literature
and with my two AP French Language classes. They were all shocked and
dismayed at the announcement and wondered what they could possibly do
to change College Board's decision. Students in the AP Literature class
spent almost the whole class period telling me how much they enjoyed the
course and why. One student said, "In this class we not only read literature
but we also learn about the historical, political, and cultural events that
influenced the author. I have learned so much about the world in this
class." Another student said, "This year even though we aren't studying
grammar in a formal way, I have learned so much about language and
structure through all the authors we have read. Why would the College
Board not value a course like this?" Throughout the school day students in
lower levels of French came to my room and asked me what class they
would be able to take after AP French Language because they were already
thinking about their schedules as juniors and seniors. The news spread to
the other world language teachers and students and the rest of the day was
filled with discussions regarding College Board's policies and practices.
The following day my students and I began our letter writing cam
paign. I had gone to the College Board website and found the names of
the president and vice president of College Board as well as the Board of
Trustees. My students and I decided to send our letters to Gaston Caper
ton, College Board President, and Trevor Packer, College Board Vice
President. Almost all of my students wrote letters either during class or
at home. Some of the students wanted me to read what they had written
and others preferred sending the letters directly to Gaston Caperton. The
letters my students wrote were very moving and poignant as they
expressed their outrage at this decision. As the letter writing campaign
progressed many of my colleagues in world language and other subject
areas decided to write letters of protest as well. Students asked their par
ents and older brothers and sisters who had been in French AP Literature
to write letters as well. My principal wrote a wonderful letter expressing
her dismay at this totally unexpected decision. The groundswell of sup
port I received from everyone was incredible and made me believe that
surely College Board would not ignore such heartfelt support for this
valuable program.
Several days later a reporter from our local newspaper, the Palo Alto
Weekly, contacted me and expressed interest in writing an article about
the decision to eliminate French AP Literature. I decided to invite her to
visit my class and interview my students. The day that she came was only
a few days before the French AP Literature exam on May 8, so we were in
the process of reviewing the themes and main characters of each novel

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 612 FRENCH REVIEW 82.3

and play on the required list. When the reporter came into the classroom
a group of students was presenting the themes of Aime Cesaire's play,
Une Tempete. She sat in the back of the class and was literally in awe of the
fact that students were speaking in French about the themes of slavery,
identity, colonialism, and other issues relevant to society today. After the
student presentations she interviewed several students who were very
articulate about the value of an AP French Literature course. The re
porter subsequently wrote an article that is available online at: http://
www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=7983.
After a month of letter writing and corresponding with all the members
of the Board of Trustees of College Board, I finally received a letter from
Trevor Packer, Vice President of College Board. He informed me that the
World Language Academic Advisory Committee of College Board sup
ported the decision to eliminate French AP Literature because it would
allow for the launching of the "single integrated capstone model" in
world languages. The committee believes that this single capstone course
would better prepare a student linguistically for upper division college
level courses. Although Mr. Packer said that he values the study of
French literature he also justified the decision based on research by
Morgan and Klaric claiming that the AP French Literature course pro
vides no additional impetus for the selection of French majors in college.
This response from College Board seemed rather condescending to me.
Based on my many years of experience as a high school French teacher
and my work as a methods of foreign language instructor at the college
level, I believe that there is a great disconnect between what the College
Board believes is happening in the teaching of French in high schools and
what is really going on in French classrooms today. My concerns about
this decision are the following:

Elimination of French AP Literature penalizes students who are

fortunate enough to begin French in elementary or middle school
and are capable of doing French AP Language as sophomores or
juniors. Those students need another challenging course of AP
quality to keep them stimulated and motivated so that they continue
with French in college.
Elimination of French AP Literature will affect enrollment in French,
particularly in high performing schools where AP courses are highly
competitive. Students who want to take rigorous foreign language
classes may opt out of French and choose Spanish instead because
they will be able to still take Spanish AP Language and AP
Literature.
Contrary to what College Board implies with its "single integrated
capstone model," AP French Language teachers already integrate
language, literature, and culture. French AP Literature teachers also

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
CANCELLATION OF AP LITERATURE EXAM 613

integrate language, literature and culture. There are colleges and

universities where language, literature, and culture are artificially
separated, but this is not the case in high school. We would not have
any enrollment in our French programs if we did not make our
curriculum relevant and integrated. Our courses are aligned with
the National Foreign Language Standards and meet the
requirements of State Frameworks as well. High school teachers
cannot teach a course in language, literature or culture in the very
narrow sense.
French AP Literature is a course where students have the
opportunity to use their language skills to discuss, debate, and
analyze themes related to politics, religion, art, music, history, a
all aspects of society. French AP Literature is an interdisciplinar
course that inspires students to continue with advanced French
studies. Most of my students who take French AP Literature st
in France during college.
French AP Literature has increased by 26% over the past ten year
proving that this course is valuable to a significant number of
students who also take French AP Language. It seems odd that t
researchers did not interview any high school students enrolled
French AP Literature regarding the intrinsic value of the course.
Although College Board claims that offering one single capstone
experience in French would be better for French students, there
other subject areas where students can take several exams: AB
Calculus and BC Calculus, Macro Economics and Micro Econom
etc. AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature are still bein
offered as well. It seems illogical that one single capstone course
good enough for French, but that Spanish will still have two exam

What bothers me the most about this arbitrary decision is that Co

Board sent out the cancellation announcement one month befo
World Language Academic Advisory Committee announced i
world language policy. In most institutions of higher learning, educ
work together to create a policy or framework for change. Majo
sions are then made based on the new policy involving all major
holders. At my high school, I would never be able to eliminate a
that had sufficient enrollment without involving input from my d
ment, the administration, students and parents.
As a result of this decision by College Board, our school is look
move in the direction of the International Baccalaureate rather than
centrate so extensively on AP Exams. More and more students, teac
and parents are frustrated with College Board as an institution a
power to determine curriculum. It seems that in recent years rathe
allow teachers to create their own enriched curriculum, College Boa

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 614 FRENCH REVIEW 82.3

feels that it needs to mandate that teachers follow a much more prescribed
curriculum. Is it the role of College Board to create a national curriculum?
This was not the intent when the AP exams first came into existence.
During the past several months since this decision I have spoken with
members of the AATF executive council and other colleagues to deter
mine an appropriate course of action for the future since it seems that
College Board never changes its mind once a decision is made. One pos
sibility would be to offer an alternative exam sponsored by AATF that
would give equivalent credit for college. We have looked at the DELF
and DALF exams as another way of validating advanced student profi
ciency. Another possibility would be to collaborate with local university
French professors and offer a college course on the high school campus
that would give students college credit. A number of university French
professors seem open to this idea. A third choice would be to offer an
honors course for post-AP French language students that would hold
student interest and attract the highly competitive students. However, all
of these possibilities take time and energy to create and put into place. In
order for a new honors course or concurrent enrollment university
course to be offered on a high school campus in 2009-2010 the course
description will have to be written in the fall of 2008. It is very hard to
sell a new course to students when a very successful one has just been
eliminated through no fault of the teacher or local administration.
I will always remember fondly the wonderful French students I have
taught throughout the years who have been able to share my passion for
French language, literature, and culture. Two of my former students who
spent their junior year in college in Bordeaux, France, wrote me long
E-mails decrying this decision by College Board. One of the students
wrote, "I never would have gone to France, if I hadn't become so
inspired about French culture in your French AP Literature class. How
can they do this?" At least I will always know that my present and for
mer students appreciate what they learned in this course. I will never
believe that the elimination of French AP Literature was the best decision
for the future of French programs in this country.

Gunn High School, CA

Works Cited

Morgan, Rick, and John Klaric. "AP Students in College; An Analysis of Five-Year Aca
demic Careers." College Board Publications, 2007.
Smith, Martin. "World Languages AAC Report to the Council," World Languages Academic
Advisory Committee, 2008.
Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century: Yonkers, NY: National Standards
in Foreign Language Education Project, 1999.

This content downloaded from 134.87.188.23 on Sat, 20 Apr 2019 23:50:59 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms