Ordinarily, I don’t advocate simple solutions to complex situations. The factors that contribute to success or failure of a school or a student are so numerous that we’ve been arguing since the nineteenth century on the best way to accomplish the goal of achieving literacy for all children—and I include math, science, history, art, and music to the foundational literacies of reading and writing.

Yet there is a reason why I’ve championed the Advanced Placement program for twenty years. AP is flexible enough to fit in any school setting, and is intelligently designed to elevate high school thinking and writing to something approximating college expectations. Over 90% of four-year colleges and universities in the United States accept AP credits, and studies show that AP students entering college achieve both higher college G.P.A.s and a higher rate of graduation within 4 years.