New College Board Scoring System for Advanced Placement (AP) Exams - Evidence-Based Standard Setting (EBSS)

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Mali

Letter transmitting an accompanying appendix from BOARS, UCEP, and UCOPE describing the College Board’s Evidence-Based Standard Setting (EBSS) approach for Advanced Placement (AP) exam scoring. The Academic Council highlights potential impacts on admissions, credit, and course placement, noting changes coincident with EBSS. It requests divisional Senate committees to share materials and consider monitoring AP pass rates by score levels, evaluating alignment with prior cut-score methods, and deciding whether local criteria and placement parameters should be revised.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

New College Board Scoring System (EBSS)

Background and scope across UC committees

Key questions and concerns

Recommended precautionary actions

February 18, 2026 Academic Senate Division Chairs Re: New College Board Scoring System for Advanced Placement (AP) Exams Dear Divisional Chairs: On behalf of the Academic Council, I am pleased to transmit the attached letter and accompanying appendix from the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools ( BOARS), the University Committee on Educational Policy ( UCEP), and the University Committee on Preparatory Education ( UCOPE) concerning the College Board’s implementation of EvidenceBased Standard Setting (EBSS) for Advanced Placement (AP) exam scoring. The Council agreed that the issues and recommendations outlined by the three systemwide committees warrant broad faculty awareness and consideration. The implementation of EBSS has coincided with changes in AP exam pass rates, raising questions for campuses that rely on AP scores in admissions, credit, and course placement decisions. The joint letter includes recommendations to divisional Senate committees, undergraduate programs, and admissions offices regarding the monitoring and use of AP exam scores to inform local reviews and decision-making. I ask that you please forward these materials to your divisional Senate committees on admissions, educational policy, and preparatory education, as well as to other interested faculty and administrators as appropriate. Thank you for your assistance in sharing this information within your campus. Sincerely, Ahmet Palazoglu Page 2 Chair, Academic Council cc: Academic Council Provost & Executive Vice President Newman Vice President & Vice Provost Gullatt Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director Yoon-Wu Senate Division Executive Directors Senate Executive Director Lin BOARD OF ADMISSIONSAND RELATIONS WITH SCHOOLS (BOARS) David Volz, Chair [david.volz@ucr.edu](david.volz@ucr.edu) UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL POLICY (UCEP) Catherine Sugar, Chair [csugar@ucla.edu](csugar@ucla.edu) UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON PREPARATORY EDUCATION (UCOPE) Bradley Queen, Chair [bradley.queen@uci.edu](bradley.queen@uci.edu) January 9, 2026 Ahmet Palazoglu Chair, Academic Council RE: College Board’s New Scoring System for Advanced Placement (AP) Exams Dear Chair Palazoglu, On behalf of the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools ( BOARS), University Committee on Educational Policy ( UCEP), and University Committee on Preparatory Education ( UCOPE), we are writing to inform the UC community about the College Board’s implementation of a new method for scoring Advanced Placement (AP) exams known as Evidence-Based Standard Setting (EBSS)—a method that integrates the input of faculty with subject-area expertise and empirical evidence from a variety of data sources and research studies. The shift to EBSS started in 2022 and appears to have largely gone unnoticed within the UC system over the last few years. BOARS, UCEP, and UCOPE govern systemwide policies specific to undergraduate admissions, academic programs, and student preparation, respectively. Therefore, the College Board’s implementation of EBSS overlaps with the jurisdiction of all three committees, as it has potential impacts on credit by exam to: 1) fulfill A-G subject requirements for first-year admissions (BOARS); 2) fulfill Page 2 general education (GE) requirements for transfer admissions (BOARS); 3) fulfill GE and specific subject requirements for UC degrees (UCEP); and/or 4) guide UC campus-specific placement decisions in subjects such as English and math (UCOPE) . Our three committees have questions and concerns about: 1) the fidelity and consistency of AP exam scores resulting from the application of EBSS, and 2) how EBSS-based scores align with scores obtained using the College Board’s prior method for cut score decisions. To help facilitate decision-making within the broader UC community moving forward, we present in Appendix 1 our current understanding of the germane issues by summarizing UC’s use of AP exams, the

FAQs

What scoring method does the letter describe for AP exams, and what is its purpose?

It describes the College Board’s Evidence-Based Standard Setting (EBSS) for scoring Advanced Placement (AP) exams. EBSS integrates faculty input, subject-area expertise, and empirical evidence from multiple data sources and research studies.

Why is EBSS considered potentially important for UC campuses?

EBSS may affect how AP scores support credit by exam and requirements for first-year admissions, transfer admissions, UC degrees, and campus placement decisions. The letter also raises concerns about fidelity, consistency, and alignment with prior cut-score approaches.

What monitoring and review actions are recommended to divisional Senate committees and staff?

They are asked to collaborate with Institutional Research to summarize AP score distributions since 2015, monitor future pass-rate changes for EBSS-impacted exams, determine whether admissions/credit/placement criteria need adjustment, and identify EBSS parameters that may explain changes in pass rates.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Mali