I responded to the teacher who described how the AP was given in the last post. Below is that response. I was not trying to fix anything, just responding to her without trying to do any more than just express myself on this topic of blown exams (either due to bad proctoring or not enough time to prepare or whatever):
It’s an industry. The people in high schools believe in it. The people will believe anything if told. The College Board is a corporation designed to make profits. They have us where they want us, which is as a source of income for them.
Of course, only the four percenters who are chosen to be on the AP team in the school, the lucky smart ones, get to play in this game. A myth is thus created in which a student who is burdened with five other AP classes can be considered to take and actually pass an AP exam in a foreign language.
What does the myth do for the teachers and the students in the building? It lets us try to seek the approval that most of us seem to so desperately crave. What does it do for the AP Corporation. It brings them record profits each year. Win-win, right? In this scenario we become a willing market for big profits. And we thought we were teachers. How silly!