In American High Schools, AP courses are typically the most challenging classes offered.  Students in these courses work extremely hard and commit a lot of their time to study for the AP tests offered every May.  After a year of hard work, a three hour test (which costs $89 to take), and two months of waiting, these students receive a score report from the College Board containing a single number, 1-5, for each test they took.  Regardless of what that number is, it is always disappointing to put in all that work just to get a single number back.

One of the best features of a well-designed test is that it provides feedback to the test-taker, showing them what they did well on and what they need to improve on.  Tests that provide feedback are valuable learning tools.  The College Board already categorizes multiple choice questions into subtopics (e.g. it divides World History into six periods) and collects data on how well students do on each subtopic.  Why not share this information with students so they can know where the gaps in their education lie?  At the very least, the College Board should break down scores into the essays and multiple choice section.

College Board has this information on hand when they grade the tests.  It would not be difficult to send it out.  Doing so would be incredibly beneficial to and much appreciated by the 2.2 million students who take AP tests each year.