AP classes, IMO, are great if one wants a harder class or wants to see what college classes are like. They're TERRIBLE for replacing a college course. Don't do an AP Calc, Chem, or Physics class in high school and expect that you'll know even half of everything you'd get out of a good college's Calc I, Physics I, or Chem I class. As an engineer or scientist, this really only sets you up for failure in the follow-up courses.
In the world of No Child Left Behind, test results are all we have to rate education these days
. If only someone were able to get past the red tape and implement a
Taxonomy on Education Objectives -style program in an entire school system. Then we'd have measurable results for a non-subjective article that aren't based upon funding or 'status'.