NEW YORK — In a letter e-mailed to secondary school principals and Advanced Placement® Italian teachers today, the College Board announced that the Advanced Placement course and exam in Italian Language and Culture will be suspended following the current academic year.
In spring 2008 the College Board announced the discontinuation of several AP courses. At that time, College Board Trustees indicated that if external funders came forward to supplement the College Board’s investment in AP Italian, the program could be sustained.
“A heroic effort was made by the Italian Language Foundation, led largely by its leaders, Dr. Margaret Cuomo and Louis Tallarini, who are true champions of Italian language and cultural studies in the United States,” said Gaston Caperton, president of the not-for-profit College Board. “However, the valiant effort to raise the needed funds was confounded by the unforeseen challenge of the current economic situation, which appears to have restricted organizations’, corporations’ and governmental abilities to collaborate with the College Board to save AP Italian.”
While AP Italian will not be offered in the 2009-10 academic year, if at some future date the funding partnerships needed to support an AP Italian program arise, the College Board will consider renewing work to develop and offer the AP Italian course and exam.The College Board encourages secondary schools to continue to offer fourth- and/or fifth-year Italian courses, making no changes to their current Italian programs beyond simply removing the “AP” designation from the capstone course.
Read the AP Italian announcement to schools.
The College Board's Advanced Placement Program® enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Thirty-seven courses in 22 subject areas are offered. Based on their performance on rigorous AP Exams, sections of which are scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers, students can earn credit, advanced placement or both for college. More than 3,600 colleges and universities around the world recognize AP for credit, placement and/or admissions decisions, including more than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities in the U.S.
The College Board
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,600 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.
CONTACT
Jennifer Topiel, The College Board, 212-713-8052, communications@collegeboard.org.