Each year the Advanced Placement Program gives capable high school students an opportunity to take college-level courses and examinations and receive credit based on exam performance.

Patterson reports that she and 482 other readers graded 133,000 Calculus exams in the course of a week. Dr. Wade Curry, AP Program Director at the College Board, said that the AP Reading "draws upon the talents of some of the finest teachers and professors that America has to offer. It fosters professionalism, allows for the exchange of ideas and strengthens the commitment to students and to teaching.