On Foreign Language AP Tests, the Racial Scoring Gap Is Small

Earlier this month JBHE reported on African American participation in the Advanced Placement program and the overall racial gap in AP test scores. (See earlier JBHE post.) We reported that African Americans took 6.4 percent of all AP exams in 2017 and that there average score was lower than the average score for Whites by the equivalent of a full letter grade.

For all AP tests combined in 2017, the average score for Blacks was 2.03, compared to the average White score of 3.02. But Black students do better in relationship to Whites on some AP tests. According to the latest data from The College Board, in 2017, the average score for Blacks on the Chinese language test was 2.28 compared to an average score for Whites of 2.60. In French, the average Black score was 2.97 compared to an average White score of 3.32. In German, the average Black score was 3.01 only 0.32 points below the average score for Whites. In Spanish, the racial gap was slightly higher but still well below the overall difference between Blacks and Whites.

Why do Black students do well relative to Whites on foreign language tests. There may be large number of Black AP test takers who come from families that immigrated from Haiti and speak French. Or there may be large number of Black AP test takers with roots in Latin America where Spanish is spoken.

It may be that in foreign language studies, students of all races tend to enter their studies with little or no head start and with little or no knowledge of the subject. In short, Black and White students start on a level playing field. This is often not the case in other subjects, where in many cases White students have had an advantage.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the FREE JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Online Articles That May Be of Interest to JBHE Readers

Each week, JBHE will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

Kenneth Chance to Step Down as Dean of Case Western Reserve University Dental School

Dr. Chance was appointed dean of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine in 2014, making him the school's first Black dean.

Featured Jobs