Kristen retweeted
Most people do not realize just how easy the AP exams have gotten. They are not college level.
Why/how have they become so easy? What's going on?
This might shock you... A brutal new piece in Education Next just dropped, saying the decline in rigor of the AP in the last two decades is, in large part, because the content has been GUTTED. For example:
— AP Biology cut 40% of its material
— Required lines from the Aeneid in AP Latin halved
— Spanish Lit reading list cut from 56 works to 38
Then the questions themselves have become absurdly easier. Readability measures show English passages have fallen multiple grade levels, and some now include footnotes defining basic words...
A 2025 AP English prompt included footnote definitions for words like "optimism" and "pessimism."
At the same time, scoring was recalibrated so that more students pass: guessing penalties disappeared, rubrics grew more generous, readers were told to give students the benefit of the doubt, etc. — "no one at College Board had any incentive to maintain rigor."
College professors are now seeing students arrive with AP credit who lack basic content knowledge and writing ability. The College Board insists the exams have not become easier, but everybody familiar with them knows they've become an absolute joke.
Advanced Placement is no longer advanced. This is not college level.
It must be replaced.
Kristen retweeted
My wife has taught high school in Tokyo for twenty years.
Every year, a few of her students spend a year living with a family in America. When they come home, she asks each of them one question.
"What do you miss?"
She expects hamburgers.
She almost never gets hamburgers.
And these aren't old stories. Most of these kids came home in the last two years.
"Every time I left the house, my host mom said, 'Text me when you get there.' In Japan, nobody needs to know where I am. In Ohio, somebody always did." (Mina, 17, Ohio)
"If you walk toward a door, an American will hold it open. Even if you are very far away. So you have to run. I ran to so many doors." (Itsuki, 16, Georgia)
"My host brother screamed on the floor of a grocery store. A stranger walked by and said to my host mom, 'You're doing great, Mama.' She almost cried. I didn't know strangers were allowed to say that." (Aoi, 17, Texas)
"We went away for the weekend and left our trash can at the curb. When we got back, it was by the garage. Nobody said who. My host dad said if it had been there one more day, the neighbor would have knocked." (Haruto, 16, Minnesota)
"A car got stuck in the snow in front of our house. Four men came out of four houses. Nobody called them. They pushed, the car drove away, and they went back inside without saying their names." (Ren, 17, Michigan)
"Every American has jumper cables. Maybe half of them know which clip goes where. The other half help anyway." (Shin, 16, Montana)
"In July, my host family put a cooler on the porch. Cold water, snacks, and a sign: 'For our delivery drivers. Thank you!' I asked if they knew the drivers. They said no." (Nanami, 16, Arizona)
"Downtown, there are banners on the lampposts. Photos of soldiers from the town. Some old, some very young. My host grandpa walked me down the street and told me every name." (Yuna, 16, Iowa)
"I got a C-plus on my first test. My host dad said, 'I'm proud of you,' and put it on the fridge. In Japan, nobody is proud of a C-plus." (Takeru, 17, Pennsylvania)
Then the quietest girl in the class raised her hand.
Sora. Seventeen. Missouri.
"Nobody asks me 'home safe?' anymore," she said.
She was wrong.
In September, there was a typhoon warning for Tokyo. At 2 a.m., Sora's phone lit up.
It was her host mom. In Missouri. Watching the weather in a country she had never been to.
"Saw the storm. You home safe?"
Sora told my wife she cried for a long time. Then she typed the answer she had typed a hundred times, from football games and friends' driveways.
"Home safe."
Her host mom wrote back one line.
"Good. That's all I needed."
My wife has asked that question for twenty years. Not one kid has ever said they missed how big America is.
They miss how America says goodbye. And how it checks that you got home.
So, America. You think you've lost something.
You haven't. It's on a porch in Arizona. It's pushing a car in Michigan. It's awake at 2 a.m. in Missouri, watching our weather.
You don't remember doing any of it.
A kid in Tokyo will never forget.
Kristen retweeted
"You two are living together. Tell me more about that," I said in my office.
"We already know it's not Biblical," the bride-to-be said.
"Okay. Say more."
"What do you mean? I'm saying we know cohabitation isn't Biblical."
"Yeah that's what's confusing me. When you asked to meet, you told me you wanted a pastor who shares your Biblical values to do your wedding, but now you're telling me you knowing don't live according to Biblical values? Tell me about how you decided to cohabitate."
"Well, we know what the Bible says about marriage and sex, but my lease was up and if I moved in with my parents it'd be a 45 minute drive and if I got my own place again, it'd be a waste of thousands of dollars."
"Ah. So time and money are your gods."
"No they aren't, we're Christians."
"Maybe. But it seems like you're not - a god is what tells you how to live. You chose to listen to time and money on sex and cohabitation instead of Jesus. Which is your god?"
"Does this mean you won't do our wedding?"
"I didn't say that. But, you did say you wanted a pastor. That's why we're here. I'm a pastor, not a hireling wedding officiant. Do you want a pastor or a vender for your wedding?"
"A pastor."
"Okay, great. Then here's my concern for you: you've developed a habit of hardening your hearts against the authority of Scripture and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Today, if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as they did in the rebellion. You said your Christians, I'll take your word for it right now, but you need to repent and move out until your wedding night. Jesus will certainly forgive if you repent and he'll cleanse you from all unrighteousness."
"Okay. So, if we don't do this then you won't do our wedding?"
"You're missing the point here. You're not even close to worried enough about what God thinks or says. My job as a pastor is to help you care about what God says, not get you to care about what I say.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have anything to say?” I said to the Groom-To-Be.
“No.”
“That’s a bummer. You’re not going to lead this family if you have nothing to say.”
“Okay.”
“Alright. Well, you have a lot to think about. If you want a pastor, I’d be happy to be a part of your wedding. If you want a vendor, let me know. More important than your wedding is your relationship with Jesus. Is He your God or not? Think and pray together.”
*an email three days later*
“We’ve decided to go a different direction.”
—
Some thoughts:
1. My heart breaks for those who make time and money their god. This idolatry is oppressive.
2. I’d for sure officiate the wedding of two non-Christians. As long as they’re okay with me telling the truth about what marriage is and who and what it’s for, I’m in. This is a 10/10 evangelism opportunity straight out of Eph 5:32.
3. But, two professing Christians who are sinning highhandedly? No. “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.” 1 Co 5:12–13).
Kristen retweeted
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
-Daniel 2:21
Kristen retweeted
“Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.”
-Saint Augustine
Kristen retweeted
Heavenly Father, help me grow closer to You every day. Strengthen my faith, guide my heart, and fill me with Your wisdom and peace. Help me follow Your will and become more like Jesus.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Kristen retweeted
Prayer Request:
Pray for our staff and volunteers serving in southern Alabama and Florida in response to Hurricane Isaias. Pray that the Lord will send more volunteers as there are thousands of families in need of help.
Kristen retweeted
I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. — Psalm 16:8 (NASB)
Kristen retweeted
It's looking to be a disappointing night for Republicans but I do know this.. GOD is in control. I'm not going to lose my faith. Jesus Christ is still King of kings and Lord of lords no matter who controls Congress.
Kristen retweeted
Baby Miran was miscarried at 14 weeks.
Then something incredible happened.
His mother bravely shared the photos of her son online, showing his “fully-formed face, hands, feet, and even fingernails.”
One of her friends rejected abortion because of the photos.
Another woman contacted her saying she cancelled her abortion appointment after reading about her son.
The life of Baby Miran may have been short, but his legacy has saved lives.
This 💯
High School Priorities for My Kids
While most high schools are still optimizing for a world that no longer exists, these are my non-negotiables:
1. Classical Education
Great books. Philosophy. Rhetoric. Writing. Debate. Logic.
The ability to think clearly, argue precisely, and write with force. Be more human.
2. Build with AI
Agentic coding. Workflows. AI agents. Engineering.
Not “using ChatGPT.” Making things of value.
3. Entrepreneurship
$100k+ by 18.
The only durable path to wealth is building a business.
In the world that’s coming, two things will separate the winners
The ability to think deeper and more independently than the models (aka be more human)
The ability to wield the models to create value better than everyone else
I want my kids to inherit the wisdom of the past, master the tools of the future, and have the courage and imagination to build something entirely their own♥️
Kristen retweeted
When it comes to reproductive technology, are we prioritizing the desires of adults over the well-being of children?
Kristen retweeted
The sound of Northern Nigerian Christian’s worshiping Jesus through the murderous persecution.
Kristen retweeted
Horrific news coming out of Ethiopia on the massacre of Christians. Prayers for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
independent.co.uk/news/world…
Kristen retweeted
Tomorrow we're releasing a full UATX course for free: all 19 lectures of Professor Isabella Reinhardt's Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome, filmed in class with our students.
It runs from Rome's mythical founding to the Third Century Crisis. It ends on a question the class spent a whole session arguing about: did Rome ever really fall?
Wow!
🇲🇽 A MEXICAN TEENAGER BUILT A FIRE EXTINGUISHER THAT USES SOUND INSTEAD OF WATER OR CHEMICALS
A student created “Vortex Tech,” a portable prototype that uses low-frequency sound waves around 30 Hz to disrupt the air feeding small flames.
In tests, it put out small fires in roughly 5 to 8 seconds.
She built it with her adviser and uncle after getting inspired by a sonic-cannon concept.
It’s still an experimental prototype for small fires, but a teenager from Mexico turned bass into a fire extinguisher 😮
Writer: Sol
Kristen retweeted
Driving home from Nashville a few days ago, the wife wanted to stop in Franklin to do a bit of Christmas shopping. Obedient to her wishes as I am, I make the detour and park. As we strolled along the square, I see an older man sitting alone on a bench. Being the sort who initiates conversation with strangers, I say jokingly:
“You look like a man who is waiting for his wife while she spends his money.”
He gives me a wan smile and replies: “I wish I was.” His voice cracks. “She passed away last November.”
We stop. I extend a sympathetic hand. He shakes it and rises to greet us. Lauri asks him about his wife, and he tells us what a wonderful woman she was and of their 50 years of marriage. His eyes welling with tears, he says he comes to the square and sits on that bench daily to reminisce about her because it was their spot for decades. He seems glad to have someone, even strangers, with whom he can talk.
We chat a bit longer, exchange numbers, and I ask him if we can pray for him. A believer, he readily accepts the offer. So, right there on the square in Franklin we pray for the Lord’s comforting presence and peace in his loss. We open our eyes and, at that very moment, a woman walks by hurriedly and reaches for the bench behind this fellow. Only I see it, and I think she might be stealing his phone which he had left on the bench when he rose to speak with us.
I walk to the bench to investigate and see that she’s left a card, a little plastic dove glued on it, proclaiming the hope of John 3:16. I look up to see her far down the sidewalk, her brisk pace undiminished, placing them everywhere in her own evangelistic endeavor. God bless her for it.
Lauri and I wished our new friend well and proceeded to shop. I bought a new vest at her encouragement — “It looks good on you” — and she bought some aromatic candles — “cinnamon vanilla.” But all the while we were thinking of this man and the seemingly coincidental nature of our meeting. The Lord had used us to visibly encourage him.
I cannot tell you the number of times I have had such encounters simply because I spoke to a stranger: a taxi driver who told me someone had murdered his daughter; a waitress who cried when I told her she was doing a good job; a contractor who, just last week, revealed to me how the Lord had delivered him from meth addiction when I was sharing the Gospel with him; and a young woman who looked unsettled and I simply asked her what troubled her so.
There are people all around you who carry secret burdens, and the Lord puts you in their path for a reason. Do you notice them? Or do you press on to “more important” things? Pray that the Lord gives you eyes to see them and the heart to minister to them. It will do you as much good as you do them.
Kristen retweeted
This is the best explanation between left and right I have heard in a long time! #RepublicanValues #democraticvalues