March 26,
2013
Why the push to expand AP classes in schools
where so many students fail to achieve qualifying
scores?
Nearly four years ago,
an article in The Denver Post’s
offered this headline and tagline:
Advanced
coursework is pushed in DPS
Although
many students haven't fared well on the AP tests,
officials
want more exposed to college-level classes.
by Claire Trageser, Aug. 21, 2009
Since
then a disturbing number of Denver students—at least several thousand—have not “fared
well” on the AP tests. But this “push” has
continued in spite of several articles like this one in The Post, and another in 2010, and again in 2011 (see Addendum A). And in spite of the strange “reasoning” a DPS
official provided then—see the opening paragraphs of Trageser’s article
here. Have we learned nothing? Can’t we see this does not make sense?
The Post article
began:
Denver high school students have
performed poorly on Advanced Placement tests during the past five years. But
administrators say they'll push more kids than ever to take AP courses next
year because they improve the odds of being successful in college.
"Some kids will go out and
fail; we know that," said Antwan Wilson, the instructional superintendent
for Denver high schools. "We don't want the first time they are exposed to
a class like this to be in college. That's awful late to be learning those
lessons."
Although 1,500 more AP tests were
given in Denver Public Schools in 2008 than in 2004, the percentage of students
passing those tests stayed at about 40 percent.
UPDATE: In 2010 in DPS, 36% passed; 2011, 34.6% passed; 2012, 37.1% passed.
|
For
a range of (better) ways to improve our lowest-performing high schools,
please consider attending the Urban High School Summit, April 24,
11:30-6:30. History Colorado Center. See
A Plus Denver for details - http://www.aplusdenver.com.
|
DPS has continued to add
more students into its AP classes. The
number of AP exams taken has increased dramatically since 2005-06, from 2,261
to 4,931 in 2011-12. DPS can fairly
report that the number of exams
earning a qualifying score has increased from 954 to 1,829 last year. At the same time, however, the pass rate—the
percentage of students who take the AP course and then pass the AP tests—has declined from 41% in 2005-06 to 37.1% in
2011-12, well below the pass rate of 59.8%[1] in
Colorado last year, and across the nation of 60%[2].
Last month the Colorado
Legacy Foundation (CLF) included two DPS high schools—South High and Thomas
Jefferson—in its second cohort of ten schools to take part in the National Math
and Science Initiative (NMSI) in Colorado.
CLF has a good story to tell about expanding Advanced Placement in three
high schools in its pilot program last year, but as I explain later, those
three schools were fertile ground for such an effort[3]. Unlike our low-performing high schools.
In this newsletter, I ask six questions on the expansion of
AP classes in many low-performing high schools in Denver and the metro area; to
support my questions, I then offer three personal stories and, in a 12-page
Addenda, I provide data and articles as further evidence why we should rethink
this trend. Again, my concerns have been
raised in articles over the past several years, but the reporters were
objective enough not to take a position.
In Another View, I have no
such constraints. I believe it is a
mistake to expand the AP classes in schools where most students are not at
grade level. My point was put nicely by Kristin Klopfenstein, director of the
Education Innovation Institute at the University of Northern Colorado: it
“strikes me as putting the cart before the horse.”
Six Questions
1. Why
push for and celebrate the rising number of students enrolled in AP classes,
when an ever larger percentage of the students, based on the criteria of the
College Board, are not “passing”?[4]
2.
How well does it serve students to be in courses
where most of them do not “pass” the test that is meant to signal satisfactory
knowledge of the material? AP scores
range from 1 to 5; a 3 is considered a passing or “qualifying score.” Consider that:
- In 2011 out of 35 students at Abraham
Lincoln taking the AP test in English Language and Composition, only 3
passed. In 2012, the number taking
the test more than doubled; 77 took the test, but only 4 passed. At Lincoln, in 2012, of the 24 students
who took the AP in Physics, not one passed. (Lincoln is now in its first
year receiving full support from the Colorado Legacy Foundation as part of
the NMSI effort.)
- In 2012, out of the 46 students at
South and Thomas Jefferson who took the AP in Government and Politics:
Comparative, 6 passed. (As mentioned above, these two schools will be part
of the NMSI effort beginning next year.)
- In 2012 out of 38 students at Martin
Luther King Jr. Early College taking the AP test in English Language and
Composition, one passed; out of 24 who took the AP test in English
Literature and Composition[5],
not one student passed.
How did it help most of these students to take
these AP classes?
3. Can
a DPS official give a convincing educational reason for pursuing this course in
the face of ever-growing scores of 1’s and 2’s—which do not qualify for college
credit? Antwan Wilson’s “explanation”
(page one) does not hold up; by that reasoning, why not force all juniors and seniors
to “benefit” from the opportunity to fail an AP class before they
graduate! Please explain the value of
having two-thirds of the students take a class which they do not “pass.” If two-thirds of the students in one of my
English classes were not able to “pass the final,” I am not sure I would have
been asked back the next year. We deserve a sound rationale for putting
hundreds of students into AP courses where, the evidence tells us, most are
likely to fail. Without one, we ought to
call a halt to this “push.”
4. What
is our goal here: to expand the number taking AP courses to help more students
meet the challenge of a rigorous academic course? Or to boost the numbers
enrolled in AP classes, whether they are the “right” courses for them or not?
5. Is
it wise to use financial incentives (as the Colorado Legacy Foundation/NMSI
effort does[6])
to create more AP classes in low-performing high schools? Will some schools take the money and add the
AP classes, even though they do not meet the needs of their students? Does the boost in numbers benefit our
low-performing students—or the bottom line of the College Board, sponsor of the
AP exams?[7]
|
A Better Idea
See
the Colorado Department of Education’s recent “Briefing Paper: Number 1 –
Predicting Future Need for Remediation,” for several common sense
recommendations, such as intervention, tutoring, and “assistance… (to) help
students achieve proficiency before they exit.”
CDE - Fact
Sheets/Latest Findings Colorado Student Data
|
6. Based
on graduation rates, 10th grade CSAP scores, 11th grade ACT scores,
and college remediation rates, the far majority of students in Denver, Aurora,
and several metro-area school districts either do not graduate or, if they do,
are not meeting expectations for college readiness. Would it not be more sensible to offer fewer college-level courses, and
instead, more courses that meet the
students where they are—below grade level—to help them achieve success in
meeting the state’s high school expectations?
Three
stories
1.
Trying
to hit the fastball – one League at a time – 1957-1968
I faced Cub League pitching until
I was 10, Little League pitching until I was 12, Babe Ruth pitching until I was
15, and then pitchers in high school and American Legion until I was 18…. The
pitching got tougher as we grew up, but we were not set up to fail;
18-year-olds weren’t whipping fastballs by a petrified 14-year old. Sure, I played with and against a few guys
whose skills and strength showed they were ready to jump to the next level before
the rest of us. At 18 that began to happen—one teammate signed a contract right
after graduation, two others went on to play minor league ball. Ready, you might say, for AP Baseball.
But most of us weren’t there. And
most DPS and Aurora juniors and seniors aren’t ready for college. Look for the
soon-to-be-released report on high schools from A Plus Denver, which lists over
15 high schools in these two districts where over 50% of last year’s 10th
grade were at grade level. Or consider
their remarkably high remediation rates—close to 59% in 2011 in both districts,
over 27% points above the state average of 31.8 that year.[8]
My advice: one step at a
time. Let high school players face high
school pitching; they might be overmatched—but they will find some
success. They won’t strike out every
time. When four out of five students in
your high school “strike out” after a year spent taking an AP course, it is
time to stop and rethink what we are doing.
2.
Teaching
an AP class in New York, Emma Willard School, 1985
Teaching AP English to bright high
schools seniors at a girls’ boarding school (founded in 1814, now preparing for
its 200th anniversary), I found the fiction and the poetry assigned
extremely challenging[9]. The writing prompts demanded a great deal of
the reader. I would not say all of the
essays the girls produced that semester were strong, but they made progress,
and most scored a 3 or better on the AP test that spring. Keep in mind, too, that fewer than half of
the seniors were taking the class—this in a college-prep school where virtually
every girl was headed off to four-year colleges the next fall. Not a course—given the extra demands—for
everyone.
I taught that class with Jack, the
academic dean and my colleague, now retired after 40 years of teaching. His perspective on AP courses is worth
sharing:
- As a student, you have to be prepared; you need to have
sufficient background; to undertake the course you need a certain level of
skills. If it isn’t there, I can’t
see it as a good idea.
- You have to have students who want to go the extra
mile. Not all students need to be
at that 3-level, but if most students are capable, the weaker students can
be drawn along and be successful.
But if most students in the class can’t perform at that 3-level, I
don’t see the point.
- You need teachers who are ready and willing and able. AP
does more than anything I know of to train people to teach the
material. But if it is a subject
the teacher didn’t major in or maybe hasn’t studied deeply in many years,
it’s not enough.
3.
Tutoring
in Aurora, Rangeview High School, 2011-2013
The College Track program in Aurora
includes sophomores with GPA’s of over 4.5 who take an AP class and are doing
well. Good for them. If the AP classes are truly college level
work, this is great. Several students tell
me they have signed up for more than three AP classes as juniors. I am only an occasional tutor, but I can’t
help but compare the reading and writing skills of these sophomores with the
high school students I taught in Vermont and New York. I wonder why so many here are jumping into
“college level work”; in spite of the AP name, I am skeptical as to whether
these courses truly demand what will be asked of college freshmen. Ironic—and telling, is it not?—that many of
our students do not test as “college-ready” in math and so will take a summer
class to improve, even as a number of them are placed in AP classes next year.
Our program has 10 out of 51 sophomores with pre-Act scores (the PLAN test) of
21 or better; they are well on track to be eligible for a four-year
college. I hope they and their equally
capable sophomores and juniors are put in challenging classes, honors classes,
advanced classes. But three-college
level classes as juniors? That should be
extremely rare—but in today’s world, it is not.
What about the good news regarding more AP classes in Colorado and in
DPS?
Wait a minute, you say. What
about the good news we read on the expansion of Advanced Placement classes
across the state of Colorado? Why this
criticism when just last month the Colorado Department of Education
announced: “Colorado ranks in top 10
for Advanced Placement scores”? Am
I disputing any of CDE’s cheerful news release?
The ninth annual
AP Report to the Nation, released today by the College Board, reports that
Colorado ranks ninth in the nation for the percentage of the class of 2012
students scoring a three or higher on Advanced Placement (AP) exams.
AP exam scores are reported on a five-point scale.[10] Students receiving a three or higher earn a qualifying score to apply course work for college credit. Colorado has ranked in the top 10 nationally for the past six years.
AP exam scores are reported on a five-point scale.[10] Students receiving a three or higher earn a qualifying score to apply course work for college credit. Colorado has ranked in the top 10 nationally for the past six years.
Colorado highlights:
·
The number of Colorado graduates who took an AP
exam in high school increased from 17,303 in 2011 to 18,358 in 2012.
·
59.8 percent of Colorado 2012 graduates that
took AP exams received a score of three or higher which qualifies them to apply
the course work for college credit. The number of graduates that scored a three
or higher also increased from 10,692 in 2011 to 11,442 graduates in 2012.
·
Colorado ranked sixth in the nation for
improving the percentage of graduates scoring a three or higher on an AP exam
in the last decade by 10.5 percent.
·
Colorado made progress in closing the
participation and achievement equity gaps compared to 2011. Hispanic/Latino
students made up 22.5 percent of the class of 2012 and 11.6 percent of those
students scored a three or higher on an AP exam.
Colorado Department of Education news release, Feb. 20,
2013
All true, as far as it goes. But such announcements fail to address
the specific issue I tackle here–another reason why I believe it is important
to lift the curtain and see where this story is far less rosy. My concern is a narrow one: the rapid growth
of AP courses in schools where it is proving least helpful.
What I would
challenge is the good news DPS reports, as in its 2011 press release[11] on AP
results that spoke of “continuing the strong trend that started in 2005.” How is that accurate when the percentage earning grades of three or higher
(a “qualifying score”) had declined in Denver from 41% in the class of 2005-06
to 34% in 2010-11? Unless you believe the numbers enrolling in AP classes (300 more in 2011 than in 2010) is a
positive story—regardless of the results. I don’t.
The Big Picture – AP Program, 2001-2012 – Passing Rate – National,
State, and DPS
Here are some facts, beginning with data on the growth in
numbers nationally and in Colorado, and the passing rates in both, in contrast
to the passing rate in DPS—between 33-38% for the past six years.
|
|
2002
|
2007
|
2012
|
|
US – Percentage of graduates who took at least
one AP exam during high school
|
18%
|
23.5%
|
32.4
|
|
Colorado - Percentage of graduates who took at
least one AP exam during high school
|
21.1
|
29.4
|
38.8
|
|
Colorado – Number of graduates who took at least
one AP exam during high school
|
8,585
|
13,753
|
18,358
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
US – Percentage of graduates who scored a 3+ on an AP exam
during high school
|
11.6
|
14.3
|
19.5
|
|
Colorado- Percentage of graduates who scored a 3+
on an AP exam during high school
|
13.7
|
18.3
|
24.2
|
|
Colorado – Number of graduates who scored a 3+
during high school
|
5,582
|
8,569
|
11,442
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Passing Rate (3,4, or 5)
|
63%
|
58.9%
|
60%
|
|
Colorado Passing Rate
|
|
|
59.8%
|
|
Total number of AP exams taken in Colorado
|
|
|
52,337
|
|
Number and % of exams earning a 3,4, or 5
|
|
|
31,297
(59.8%)
|
|
Denver Public Schools Passing Rate
|
|
37.6%
|
37.1%
|
DPS – number tested and percentage of AP tests earning a qualifying
score – over seven years*
|
|
2005-06
|
2006-07
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
|
Number tested
|
2,261
|
2,752
|
2,836
|
3,508
|
4,114
|
4,583
|
4,931
|
|
Percentage of AP tests taken that
earned a qualifying score
|
41%
|
37.6%
|
37.8%
|
33.6%
|
36%
|
34.6%
|
37.1%
|
*Figures
taken from 2006-10 scores reported Feb 2, 2011, and from 2008-12 scores
reported Sept. 12, 2012, DPS Office of Accountability, Research and Evaluation;
where the two reports had different numbers for 2008 – 2010, the figures used
here are from most recent report.
Breakdown of results on six major types of AP tests
DPS – number tested and percentage of AP tests earning a qualifying
score – over seven years*
|
|
2005-06
|
2006-07
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
’06 to ’12 change
|
|
All
Language Tests
|
239
47.3%
|
231
47.2%
|
252
57.5%
|
160 60%
|
300
63.7%
|
283
61.8%
|
400
66.3%
|
+19%
|
|
All Science
Tests
|
315 36.2%
|
392
43.1%
|
412
39.1%
|
479
36.7%
|
594
36.5%
|
776 39%
|
647 42%
|
+5.8%
|
|
AP Math
Tests
|
221
35.7%
|
312
33.7%
|
377
39%
|
402
43.5%
|
464
47.8%
|
502
43.2%
|
590
40.7%
|
+5%
|
|
All Social
Science Tests
|
860 37.9%
|
949
31.9%
|
974
27.9%
|
1,365 26.2%
|
1,372 29.7%
|
1,712 26.1%
|
1,901 30.6%
|
-7.3%
|
|
All Arts
Tests
|
77
64.9%
|
84
38.1%
|
90
63.3%
|
70
45.7%
|
166
51.2%
|
146
43.2%
|
137
56.2%
|
-8.7%
|
|
All
Literature Tests
|
549
46.3%
|
784
40.4%
|
731
39.5%
|
1032 33.1%
|
1218 29.3%
|
1164
32.7%
|
1,256 31.4%
|
-14.9%
|
*Figures
taken from 2006-10 scores reported Feb 2, 2011, and from 2008-12 scores
reported Sept. 12, 2012, DPS Office of Accountability, Research and Evaluation;
where the two reports had different numbers for 2008 – 2010, the figures used
here are from most recent report.
Comments
Greatest improvement:
All Language Tests (+7%) – All Language Tests include a few for
German, French, Italian, and Japanese, but the most common AP Language taken is
Spanish Language (392 out of 400 tests taken in 2012). The increase in the percentage proficient in
Spanish, from 59.8% passing in 2008 to 66.8% in 2012, is the main reason for the
improved score here.
Improvement: All Math Tests (+5%) – The improvement came largely
from a higher percentage passing on the Calculus AB Subscore Grade and on
Calculus BC in 2012 than in 2006. The
percentage passing Calculus AB improved in 2008 and 2009, but it has declined
since then (see below). The percentage
passing the Statistics AP has declined from 37.1% in 2006 to 34.2% in
2012—while the number taking the test has more than tripled.
|
|
2005-06
|
2006-07
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
’06 to ’12 change
|
|
Calculus AB
|
122
31.1%
|
150
31.3%
|
115
43.5%
|
161
44.1%
|
221
38%
|
257
36.6%
|
334
35.3%
|
+4.2%
|
|
Statistics
|
35
37.1%
|
57
29.8%
|
54
38.9%
|
94
23.4%
|
64
21.4%
|
82
41.5%
|
117
34.2%
|
-2.9%
|
Significant declines in percentage earning passing scores:
All Literature Tests -14.9%
All Arts Tests -8.7%
All Social Science Tests -7.3 %
Some would like to celebrate
the dramatic increase in the number of DPS high school students taking the
English Literature tests – from 549 in 2006 to 1,256 in 2012. However, 46.3% scored a 3 or better in 2006.
This dropped to 39.5% in 2008. Last year only 31.4% earned a passing score.
AP Pass rates at 16 Denver high schools - highest to lowest – from 76%
to 8%
Along with the declining passing rates is the concern about the
dramatic range of passing rates by Denver
high schools, especially to see at least seven schools where the percentage of
students scoring a 3 or better is so low.
In some the pass rate is so minimal as to demand the question: what is
the point? In 2012 the pass rate at
Montbello was 8%, at Martin Luther King Jr. Early College it was 14%, at West -
16%, and at Bruce Randolph - 19%. George
Washington (21%), Abraham Lincoln (24%), and South (25%) were also unable to
see more than one-quarter of their students taking the test to score at least a
3.
|
|
Number
tested
|
Number passed
|
AP Pass
rate 2012
|
|
Denver
School of Science & Technology
|
202
|
153
|
76%
|
|
East
|
1,399
|
785
|
56%
|
|
Denver
School of the Arts
|
341
|
170
|
50%
|
|
Denver
Center for International Studies
|
233
|
93
|
40%
|
|
Thomas
Jefferson
|
371
|
127
|
34%
|
|
KIPP
Denver Collegiate High School
|
130
|
43
|
33%
|
|
John
Kennedy
|
201
|
64
|
32%
|
|
North
|
62
|
18*
|
29%
|
|
South
|
378
|
93
|
25%
|
|
Abraham
Lincoln
|
421
|
100
|
24%
|
|
George
Washington
|
471
|
100
|
21%
|
|
Bruce
Randolph
|
117
|
22*
|
19%
|
|
West
|
73
|
12
|
16%
|
|
Martin
Luther King Jr. Early College
|
130
|
18
|
14%
|
|
Manual
|
63
|
6
|
10%
|
|
Montbello
|
312
|
25
|
8%
|
*At several
schools—notably Lincoln and Randolph—the students perform well on the Spanish
Language AP; the far majority of those who take this test score a 3 or
better. It is great to see such strong
results in Spanish, a positive sign of the academic potential of many students
for whom Spanish is their primary language (see Box 1). However, when we see that, in other subjects,
the percentage passing is so low (see Box 2), we realize that even the mediocre
overall AP numbers above are somewhat deceiving—and even more disturbing.
|
Box 1
|
Number
taking Spanish Language AP
|
Number
passing Spanish Language AP
|
% passing
Spanish Language AP
|
|
Abraham
Lincoln
|
66
|
54
|
82%
|
|
Bruce
Randolph
|
27
|
21
|
78%
|
|
John F.
Kennedy
|
48
|
33
|
69%
|
|
KIPP
Denver Collegiate
|
28
|
26
|
93%
|
|
Martin
Luther King Jr. Early College
|
23
|
14
|
61%
|
|
North
|
25
|
15
|
60%
|
|
West
|
23
|
12
|
52%
|
|
Box 2
|
Number
taking tests in subjects other than Spanish Language AP
|
Number
passing tests besides Spanish Language
AP
|
% passing
AP tests besides Spanish Language AP
|
|
Abraham
Lincoln
|
355
|
46
|
13%
|
|
Bruce
Randolph
|
90
|
1
|
1%
|
|
John F.
Kennedy
|
153
|
31
|
20%
|
|
KIPP
Denver Collegiate
|
102
|
17
|
17%
|
|
Martin
Luther King Jr. Early College
|
107
|
4
|
4%
|
|
North
|
37
|
3
|
8%
|
|
West
|
50
|
0
|
0%
|
Percentage of students taking AP exam at low-achieving high schools
At the three Denver high schools with AP passing rates of
over 50%, the majority of students appear on track to graduate ready for
college classes. ACT scores of 21 or
above predict fairly strong college readiness; at DSST (an average ACT composite
score of 24 in 2012), Denver School of the Arts (22) and East (21), most students
appear ready for college level classes.
So it makes sense that so many 11th and 12th
graders at these schools take at least one AP course.
On the other hand, it is hard to understand why, in high
schools where few students are on track to graduate ready for college, such a
large number are placed in AP classes.
The old Montbello High is being phased out, so this look back may seem
unnecessary; still, one wonders why, in recent years, it placed so many
students in AP classes—with such poor results:
|
Montbello High School
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
|||
|
# tested
|
% Passed
|
# tested
|
% Passed
|
# tested
|
% Passed
|
|
|
357
|
8%
|
434
|
10%
|
312
|
8%
|
|
Far more troubling is to see this trend continue in schools
where no more than one-quarter of the students pass, and where the scores on
the 10th grade TCAP (most students below proficient) and the ACT (a
school average of 16 or below) indicate that few juniors and seniors are on
track to be college-ready. It is
especially puzzling to see that two of these schools (South and Lincoln) are
now part of the Legacy Foundation’s initiative to expand the number of AP
classes.[12]
2011 remediation rates were 67.5% for South graduates, 78.3% for Lincoln
grads. So the solution is … more
college-level classes?
|
|
2011
|
2012
|
||
|
South
|
303
|
34%
|
378
|
25%
|
|
Abraham
Lincoln
|
397
|
15%
|
421
|
24%
|
|
George
Washington
|
415
|
24%
|
471
|
21%
|
|
Bruce
Randolph
|
110
|
2%
|
117
|
19%
|
The case for giving more students the opportunity to take AP classes
I recognize there is more than one side to this debate. At its web site the Colorado Legacy
Foundation answers the question “Why AP?”:
Studies have shown that student who
take AP courses are less likely to need remediation and more likely to graduate
from college. A high school student who
passes just one AP exam has a 72% chance of graduating from college, compared
to a 30% chance without AP. In fact,
students who take an AP course but do not receive a passing score on the AP
exam are still 24% more likely to graduate from college than their peers who
have not engaged in AP coursework. [13]
(See also a piece by Jay Matthews, “Taking but Flunking AP
test,” May 23, 2012. His article
includes the argument made by CLF, but by the end, he no longer sounds convinced
- http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-23/local/35456267_1_high-schools-charter-urban-schools.)
CLF then
adds:
Unfortunately, many students either
are not offered this opportunity or do not take advantage of it; 70% of Latino
and 80% of African American students who show potential to succeed in AP
classes do not enroll. If we hope to
close the achievement gap, expanding access to and success in AP must be part
of the solution.” http://colegacy.org/initiatives/coloradolegacyschools/the-legacy-schools-solution/
Persuasive, to some.
But an 11th grader reading two years below grade
level is not likely to have, at that
point in time, the skills needed to succeed in a college-level class. These juniors need great support their final
two years—remedial work, intervention, classes that help them get
closer to graduating with the skills and knowledge expected of a high school
graduate. Doesn’t that come first, well
before we make them take an AP class where—as DPS keeps showing us—students
succeed less than 40% of the time?
Conclusion
Three key findings from the data above:
1. a
huge discrepancy between the national pass rate and that in DPS—60% to 37%;
2. a
decline in the rate of DPS students who pass the AP test the past seven
years—41% to 37%;
3. a
terribly low pass rate on the AP tests at a number of Denver high schools (7
schools where no more than 25% pass).
What I see is a plan that puts hundreds of students into AP
courses for which they are not prepared.
It sets them up for failure. It
is completely contrary to the time-honored guide to good teaching: “Meet
students where they are.”
Let’s first help students achieve success in meeting the
state’s high school expectations.
Once that is accomplished, yes, of
course, keep challenging them—and wherever possible, offer college-level
classes. But one step at a time.
The easy answer?
As hard as an AP class can be
for a student, as demanding as it is for a teacher to learn the curriculum and
attend all the professional development classes to teach an AP class well, what
we may need to admit is that AP FOR ALL is an easy answer. It doesn’t require the more difficult work of figuring
how to adapt curriculum and instruction to help a 10th grader move
from unsatisfactory to proficient by the time he or she graduates—or to wrestle
with bigger questions about the impersonal structure of our large high schools,
and much more. All of us who have
followed trends—fads?—in public education need to ask if we are caught up in
another one, especially when the facts we look at say: this is not working.
Another View, a newsletter by Peter Huidekoper,
represents his own opinion and is not intended to represent the view of any
organization he is associated with. Comments are welcome.
303-757-1225 / peterhdkpr@gmail.com / Peter Huidekoper,
Jr./ 8802 N. Piney Creek Rd./ Parker, CO
80138.
ADDENDA
Addendum A – Six news
articles on Advanced Placement
Concerns raised in numerous articles
regarding the expansion of AP tests and the high failure rate
Several news articles over the past few years in The New York Times, USA Today, The Denver
Post, and Education News Colorado
have raised concerns about the expansion of AP tests. I quote from these pieces to remind readers
of the issues raised and to ask if DPS has satisfactorily answered the
questions the press has posed.
Especially in light of the current 37.1% pass rate in the district.
1.
“Expansion
of A.P. Tests Also Brings More Failures,” by Tamara Lewin, Feb. 10, 2010, The New York Times.
The College Board report emphasized the
rising proportion of seniors who had taken at least one A.P. exam, and received
at least one passing grade. The share who took at least one A.P. exam last year
was a third larger than it was for the class of 2004, while the share that got
a grade of three or higher was about a quarter higher than in the class of
2004.
While the majority of students who take
A.P. exams still earn a passing score of 3, 4 or 5, which is enough to earn
college credit at many institutions, the share of failing scores has risen with
the program’s rapid expansion. In 2009, about 43 percent of the 2.3 million
A.P. exams taken earned a failing grade of 1 or 2, compared with 39 percent of the
one million exams taken by the class of 2001.
Whether there are benefits for students
who take an A.P. exam, but do not pass, remains a matter for debate.
The College Board said that
students who got a 2 or higher were more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree
within four years than other students. Some educators say that being exposed to
college-level work helps even those students who fail the exam.
2. “Failure rate for AP tests climbing,” Feb.
10, 2010, USA Today.
The findings about the failure rates
raise questions about whether schools are pushing millions of students into AP
courses without adequate preparation and whether a race for higher standards
means schools are not training enough teachers to deliver the high-level
material. “The standards don't teach themselves," says Stanford
University's Linda Darling-Hammond, a noted teacher-quality expert who says
schools shouldn't treat AP as "another silver bullet" that will raise
standards and assure academic success. "You have to build the whole
system. You can't just bring in one thing and think that it's going to solve
everything," she says.
3.
“Colorado:
AP participation, success up,” by Nancy Mitchell, Feb. 10, 2010, Education News Colorado.
EdNews
reported on the College Board’s state-by-state assessment of AP
performance. That College Board report
showed that in the United States, 56.1% of the class of 2010 scored a 3, 4, or
5; and in Colorado, 59.9% of the class of 2010 scored a 3, 4, or 5. Mitchell’s article noted that in Denver
Public Schools the pass rate in 2008-09 was 33%, down from 40% in 2004-05.
But as the number of students
statewide taking AP classes has grown, the actual percentage of test-takers
earning that 3 or higher – considered the passing rate on an AP end-of-course
exam – has declined. Consider that in
2004, 10,454 Colorado students took at least one AP exam and 6,746 achieved a
3, 4 or 5 – for a 65 percent success rate. In 2009, 15,499 students
took at least one AP exam and 9,476 passed it, or 61 percent.
Colorado ranks 8th in the nation in the
percentage of its high school seniors earning a 3 or above on AP exams, and 5th
in the country in expanding that percentage over the past five years.
Districts such as Denver Public Schools
have sought to increase enrollment in AP classes in recent years as a way of
strengthening the high school curriculum and giving students a taste of
college. Denver school board members
have set a goal of annually increasing student participation in AP classes by
3.5 percent, along with increasing those students earning a 3 or above on their
AP exams by 3.5 percent yearly. The
district released data last week showing the number of all high school students
taking AP classes has more than doubled since 2003-04, to nearly 4,500. The
number of students passing AP exams has increased by 97 percent in that same
period.
As in the state and the nation, the
percentage of DPS students failing their AP exams also has risen. In 2004-05,
DPS administered 2,021 AP tests and 808 earned a 3 or higher, for a passing
rate of 40 percent. In 2008-09, DPS gave 3,369 AP exams and 1,127 scored
at least a 3, for a passing rate of 33 percent.
Doubts raised by three years of reporting
in The Denver Post – to what effect?
This trend in Colorado and in
Denver was examined by The Denver Post three years in a row. Some would say each story has communicated a
similar warning—but with little impact. Perhaps after three tries the
Post’s reporters concluded their questions fell on deaf ears, so they stopped
asking. I, for one, am grateful they tried, and this newsletter builds on their
work. The third
article below speaks of the debate “heating up.” It didn’t then; I hope it does now. We are long overdue for a thoughtful review
of the merits of Denver’s policy on AP classes.
4. “Advanced
coursework is pushed,” by Claire
Trageser, Denver Post, Aug. 2, 2009.
The AP push was piloted two years ago
in four high schools, including Thomas Jefferson.
"We found students who were just
getting by in classes but whose PSAT scores showed they had potential,"
said Thomas Jefferson principal Sandra Just. "Then we could say to them,
'We think you could be successful in this class.' "
But not all students taking AP classes
are succeeding. At Lincoln High School, another pilot school, the number of
students who took AP tests increased to 252 from 181 between 2008 and 2009,
while the number of students who passed AP tests increased to 50 from 44.
In each of Lincoln's 10 AP classes,
except Spanish language, fewer passed than failed the 2009 tests. No students
passed the AP studio-art test, and only one student each passed the AP biology,
physics and calculus tests. No students passed physics or calculus in 2008;
biology was not offered then.
AP exams are scored 1 to 5, with marks
of 3, 4 and 5 considered passing. On eight of the 2009 tests, the majority of
students scored a 1, including 28 on the AP American history test and 46 in AP
European history. Sixty-five percent of students who took AP tests at Lincoln
scored a 1, and 15 percent scored a 2. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13173702
5. “DPS touts benefits of taking tough courses,” by Jeremy Meyer, Denver Post, Oct. 5, 2010.
Denver Public Schools is on a blitz
this month to encourage more students to be like Sanchez, touting the increased
number of students taking Advanced Placement courses and concurrent college classes.
Events to drive home the college message are planned throughout the month.
The DPS graduation rate hovers around
52 percent. Half of those graduates usually go to college, but 55 percent of
those need remediation in at least one subject once they get there.
The hope is that by stressing the
importance of college and adding rigorous college-level courses, those numbers
will improve toward goals of an 82 percent graduation rate by 2012 and a 63
percent college enrollment by 2013.
"Our first and foremost goal is to
graduate students prepared for college and careers," said Superintendent
Tom Boasberg. "We know a key element to that is rigor."
"The national data is clear that
the rigor of the high school courses is a key predictor of high school graduation
and college success," Boasberg said. "We are very intentionally
pushing more and more of our students into more rigorous course
opportunities."
Some critics are questioning the
increased ubiquitousness of AP — courses designed to push the highest achieving
students that are now being offered to everyone.
"AP doesn't solve the problem of
kids coming into high school ill-prepared," said Philip M. Sadler, a
senior lecturer in astronomy at Harvard University and editor of the book,
"AP: A Critical Examination of the Advanced Placement Program." "It's
for the kids who are champing at the bit and are really well prepared for
college," he said. "Americans just love these easy solutions. If we
put AP in all schools in the country, somehow kids will know more math, be
harder working and go to college. Show me the research."
6. “More Colorado students take AP classes, even as debate heats
up,” by Kevin Simpson, Denver Post,
May, 8, 2011.
Colorado participation in the AP
program has increased more than seven-fold since 1973, with 270 schools and
more than 32,000 students signing on last year.
And while AP used to target only the
academic elite, more recently schools have expanded access as reformers insist
that exposure to AP's academic rigor, regardless of test performance, provides
a strong predictor of college success.
Yet AP also faces persistent push-back.
Concerns that the program can breed
academic burnout haven't gone away. Some educators question whether, in an era
of competitive open enrollment, high schools are tempted to funnel too many
kids into AP for statistical window dressing.
Further on, Simpson noted:
Denver Public Schools have been pumping up AP, as well as other options like concurrent enrollment in college classes. AP enrollment has roughly doubled in the last five years, as has the number of students taking one or more AP tests.
Although both tests taken and tests
passed have risen in similar percentages, the pass rate varies widely among
schools — from a high of 65 percent scoring 3 or higher at the Denver School of
Science and Technology to a low of 8 percent at Montbello.
The cultural shift is a work in
progress.
"Awareness is a big part of
it," says Antwan Wilson, the district's assistant superintendent for
post-secondary readiness. "Most students who traditionally take AP
courses, they understand where they're going with those courses, why they're in
it. We have to increase awareness, that these open up doors so the things kids
dream about can become reality."
Kristin Klopfenstein, founding
executive director of the Education Innovation Institute at the University of
Northern Colorado in Greeley, has studied AP extensively. She used to argue in
favor of exposing non-traditional AP students to the program and subscribed to
the conventional wisdom that the academic rigor alone would be beneficial.
But then she looked closer. When she
controlled for additional factors, like the other courses students were taking,
the data showed that when kids struggle with AP, it's actually a poor predictor
of how they'll do in college.
She's a fan of AP as originally
conceived, but says most schools don't put enough emphasis on preparation and
support necessary for a broader population to be successful in those courses.
"This whole push to use AP as a
reform effort strikes me as putting the cart before the horse,"
Klopfenstein says. "If a student can't do high school work, why do we
think they'll be able to do college-level work?
We want to get more first-generation college students, so when they're
in high school we want them in an advanced curriculum to find out what they're
made of. But we've taken that to the extreme by saying every kid should take an
AP course."
The College Board's Trevor Packer (vice
president for Advanced Placement) allows that the jury is still out on whether
mere exposure to AP courses truly benefits students who don't fare well on the
tests. But he adds that the biggest concern
surrounding AP's expansion involves the inconsistency of the preparation
students receive for the college-level courses.
"That's where we really see the
quality diverge," he says.
This article also
spoke of the influence on high school ratings by Newsweek, which “computes an index
based entirely on Advanced Placement, IB and Cambridge test stats —
specifically, the ratio of tests taken to graduating seniors.”
In DPS, Wilson says he's extremely
proud of George Washington, whose IB program propelled it to 11th in Colorado
on the Newsweek scale, and East, which ranked 14th.
"But I believe a school's
success extends beyond the limited metrics of Newsweek," he adds. "I spend
zero time talking to my schools about that. What we should be doing is making
sure all our courses are rigorous."
Klopfenstein, of the Education
Innovation Institute, contends that in the case of the Newsweek rankings, like
college rankings published each year by the U.S. News & World Report,
schools understand the measures and, in some cases, manipulate the
numbers. "So I think the Newsweek
rankings have caused some distortions in school behavior that aren't good for
kids," she says. "I've heard from many parents who are very frustrated
because they feel their kids are being forced into AP when it's not appropriate
for them. And I do think that's a function of the pressure of the Newsweek
rankings."
Even the College Board's Packer voices
concern that some schools would use the simplicity of Newsweek rankings to
prioritize AP above investments in pre-high school preparation for
college-level work. But he calls such
cases "isolated incidents."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18020096
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18020096
Addendum B - Colorado Legacy Foundation
1.
A
high “passing rate” is not automatically a positive sign, as CLF’s Program
Director, Dr. Gregory Hesse, pointed out to me in this email. High pass rates can also be indicative, in
some cases, of programs that exclude many students who might well benefit from
AP classes. Hesse wrote:
The metric that we embrace is overall
number of students earning qualifying scores, not to be confused with pass
rates. Our contention is not that all students are able to earn qualifying
scores on advanced placement exams, but that all students are able to learn at
advanced rates. For this reason, we work to convince more students to engage in
AP courses based on the well-supported notion that students who challenge
themselves in more rigorous courses learn more. In my time in education, I have
come across many schools capable of boasting extraordinary pass rates that have
not always been indicative of successful programs. A recent trip brought me to
a high school where 18 of 20 AP Literature students had recently passed the AP
exam; a 90% pass rate. Of course, the senior class contained 450 students, 430
of whom had decided not to enroll in this academically rigorous course. By
allowing obstacles to exist between students interested in receiving a
higher-quality education and AP instruction, we can all improve pass rates
while simultaneously continuing an inequitable education process based upon
limited access to instructional rigor. For this reason, the Colorado Legacy
Schools initiative strives to remove the myth of pass rate from the collective
understanding of Advanced Placement programs.
2.
“Colorado Legacy Foundation wins $10.5M grant to push AP courses,” Feb 10, 2012, The Denver Post.
The Colorado Legacy Foundation will channel $10.5 million in
federal funding over the next five years to a program that encourages
enrollment in Advanced Placement classes to close the achievement gap. The
primary goal of the grant is to improve student performance among traditionally
underserved students in 30 high schools. Colorado was one of only two states —
Indiana was the other — to receive the federal funding, channeled through the
National Math and Science Initiative.
"This is a complex program and so much more than
getting kids to take advanced curriculum," said Helayne Jones, president
and CEO of the Colorado Legacy Foundation. "There's proven research that
shows kids who are not performing as well as they'd like benefit from having
higher standards and curriculum. There's a paradigm shift that supports the
notion that every child can succeed and should be allowed to succeed in a
rigorous curriculum."
The program will provide $100 financial incentives to
students who achieve qualifying scores on standardized tests for the rigorous
AP courses in math, science or English, and similar incentives to their
teachers. The money also allows for more teacher training, covers half the cost
of student exam fees and supports additional time for course review and exam
preparation.
The foundation already has implemented parts of the program
in seven pilot schools and reported an 80 percent increase in the number of
students taking AP classes and a 53 percent increase in the number of students
earning qualifying exam scores.
In the next round of the program, the foundation will target
a statewide distribution of schools. About 30 have expressed interest and will
host site visits over the next several weeks.
Over the five years of the program, 10 schools will be
invited to join each year. The Colorado Legacy Foundation also must raise
matching funds — about $3.5 million over the course of the program.
"Major requirements for funding happen around year
three," Jones said, "and that's when we'll have good hard data
showing results of the program — which will make it easier for fundraising."
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19712351#ixzz2NX3ls9na
4.
“Colorado Legacy Foundation Announces
Second Group of Schools to Participate in Advanced Placement Program,” Feb. 26, 2013, Press Release.
Additional Schools Selected to
Implement the Colorado Legacy Schools Program
DENVER, CO – Today the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) announced
the second cohort of schools to participate in the Colorado Legacy Schools
initiative with funding from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI).
Colorado Legacy Schools is a local replication of the proven National Math and
Science Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP), which has an
unparalleled record of closing achievement gaps and increasing college
readiness in program schools. This initiative provides funding for extensive
teacher training, student exam fees, classroom equipment and supplies, awards
for those who excel, and extra time on task for students during Saturday study
sessions.
“Last year, Colorado Legacy Schools’
three schools represented just over 1% of the total number of schools in
Colorado giving AP exams, yet they accounted for 19% of the growth in passing
scores statewide,” said Dr. Helayne Jones, President and CEO of the Colorado
Legacy Foundation. “We fully anticipate replication of that success with this
second cohort of schools. Colorado Legacy Schools is about changing the culture
of learning environments so that every student has the opportunity to receive
the supports they need to succeed in AP coursework. We believe that
demographics in an AP classroom should mirror the diversity of the school’s
hallway. This program advances that principle, and we look forward to working
closely with CDE and educators through the state to expand this success.”
The ten high schools, from rural, urban
and suburban school districts throughout Colorado, are: Delta High School,
Denver South High School, Greeley Central High School, Harrison High School,
Northridge High School, Pueblo South High School, Rangeview High School, Sand
Creek High School, Skyline High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School. These
schools will receive support to dramatically increase the number and diversity
of students succeeding in AP math, Science, and English courses for three
school years beginning in 2013-2014.
In the 2011-2012 school year, the three
participating pilot schools increased the number of students earning qualifying
scores on AP math, science, and English exams from 48 to 256—a 433% increase
which accounts for nearly 20% of the overall increase in these subjects for the
entire state of Colorado. The impact on historically underrepresented students
was even more profound, as these three schools increased the number of African
American and Hispanic students earning qualifying scores by over 1,000%.
The Colorado Legacy Foundation is
expected to expand Colorado Legacy Schools to include an additional 10 high
schools in 2014-2015, for a total of thirty participating schools.
Initial funding was provided by the
U.S. Department of Defense and Exxon Mobile. These investments led to CLF
receiving the Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant through the US Department of
Education for expansion of this work throughout the nation.
To learn more about the
Colorado Legacy Foundation, please visit www.colegacy.org.
5. My comment on CLF’s success in its pilot
project.
It is good to be sure something works before you take it
elsewhere. But there is plenty of evidence
that some reforms work well in certain schools and not in others. (It is a
painful lesson I had to learn first-hand working for a foundation,
1990-96.) The relevant medical terms are
“donor-donee compatibility” and “transplant rejection.” Some bodies reject the
new organ; some schools are inhospitable to programs that fit in nicely
elsewhere.
Consider the following differences between CLF’s pilot
schools and low-performing urban schools like Denver’s Abraham Lincoln and
South High. Without claiming that
Colorado’s School Performance Framework can predict if a particular school will
benefit from more AP classes, the SPF data is revealing.
CLF’s three pilot schools in 2011-12
The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness scores for the
three schools in 2011, the year before their participation in CLF’s initiative,
show all three were Meeting the
state’s expectations: Fountain Fort Carson (with rating of 83.3%), Widefield
(75%), and Mesa Ridge (66.7%). So they were
schools where additional AP classes were probably a good fit. Each school’s composite ACT scores—while only
Approaching the state’s expectations,
were not far below: Fountain Fort Carson - 19.1; Widefield - 18.9; and Mesa
Ridge 18.4—another sign that many of their rising seniors were capable of
college level work.
Now look at SPF’s report on Abraham Lincoln last year. Not
likely to be a setting where a large number of rising juniors and seniors have
the skills to succeed in AP classes.
State Performance Framework - 2012
|
Abraham
Lincoln High School
|
Performance Indicators
|
ACT Composite
|
|
|
Academic
Achievement
|
Postsecondary
& Workforce Readiness
|
|
|
|
25%
|
45.3%
|
15.5
|
|
|
Rating-
Does Not Meet
|
Rating-
Approaching
|
Rating –
Does Not Meet
|
|
Does such criteria matter when CLF picks its schools? Apparently not, for it has selected Denver’s
South and Thomas Jefferson for its work in 2013-14. South scores almost as poorly as Lincoln in
these three categories. The school may
well have a strong commitment to raise its academic performance, but at present,
why not focus on helping more students attain grade level proficiency?
College-level work can wait.
|
South High
School
|
Performance Indicators
|
ACT Composite
|
|
|
Academic
Achievement
|
Postsecondary
& Workforce Readiness
|
|
|
|
25%
|
42.2%
|
16.1
|
|
|
Rating-
Does Not Meet
|
Rating-
Approaching
|
Rating –
Does Not Meet
|
|
Furthermore, the recent the 2012 pass rate for students
taking Advanced Placement courses at South (25%) and Thomas Jefferson (34%)
suggests most students there are not ready for a college-level class. Which, let me be clear, is nothing to be
ashamed of! The shame, or the folly, in
my view, is placing students in courses for which they are not prepared.
|
2 Denver
high schools
|
|
Number tested
|
Number passed
|
AP Pass rate
|
|
South High
School
|
2010
|
237
|
68
|
29%
|
|
2011
|
303
|
104
|
34%
|
|
|
2012
|
378
|
93
|
25%
|
|
|
Thomas
Jefferson High
|
2010
|
449
|
131
|
29%
|
|
2011
|
358
|
85
|
24%
|
|
|
2012
|
371
|
127
|
34%
|
Addendum C – The College Board
To be fair, the College Board does speak of its goal of seeing
that more low-income and minority students take and do well on Advanced
Placement courses. And it has reduced
fees for many low-income students. But
the vast growth in AP classes and tests is surely a great financial boon to the
College Board.
From “Student
Performance on AP Exams Improves,” by Caralee Adams,
Education Week, Feb. 20, 2013.
Among the strategies that the
College Board suggests in promoting equity in AP is for districts to work with
middle and high school counselors, reach out to parents with information about
programs, provide targeted mentoring, and host summer bridge program, according
to the new report.
Subsidizing the Cost
It costs $89 for students to take an AP exam. Last year, the College Board provided a $28 fee reduction for more than 439,000 low-income graduates to take the exam—more than double the number covered in 2008 with the test subsidy.
It costs $89 for students to take an AP exam. Last year, the College Board provided a $28 fee reduction for more than 439,000 low-income graduates to take the exam—more than double the number covered in 2008 with the test subsidy.
Addendum D - 2 examples of the reading/writing tasks on AP English
Literature and Composition
- Example from English
Literature and Composition 2011 Free-Response Questions http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap11_frq_english_lit.pdf
Question 2
(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as
one-third of the total essay section score.)
The following passage is from the novel Middlemarch by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans
(1819–1880). In the passage, Rosamond and Tertius Lydgate, a recently married
couple, confront financial difficulties.
Read the passage carefully. Then write a well-developed
essay in which you analyze how Eliot portrays these two characters and their
complex relationship as husband and wife. You may wish to consider such
literary devices as narrative perspective and selection of detail.
(The test then provided a page from the novel for students
to read and examine.)
- Example from English
Literature and Composition 2012 Free-Response Questions http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap_2012_frq_eng_lit.pdf
Question 3
(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as
one-third of the total essay section score.)
“And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and
characters as much as fate, destiny or any supernatural agency.” Pauline
Hopkins, Contending Forces
Choose a novel or play in which cultural, physical, or
geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character.
Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how surroundings affect
this character and illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.
You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable
literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Absalom, Absalom! The Age
of Innocence
Another Country Brideshead
Revisited
Ceremony The
Color Purple
Daisy Miller Death
of a Salesman
The Glass Menagerie The Grapes
of Wrath
Great Expectations Heart of
Darkness
Invisible Man King
Lear
Maggie: A Girl of the
Streets M. Butterfly
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream My Ántonia
Native Son No
Exit
One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest One Hundred
Years of Solitude
Oryx and Crake A
Passage to India
The Piano Lesson The
Plague
The Poisonwood Bible Pride and
Prejudice
A Raisin in the Sun Snow
Falling on Cedars
Sula The
Sun Also Rises
Tess of the
D’Urbervilles Waiting
for Godot
When the Emperor Was
Divine The Women of
Brews
Addendum E – DPS Press Release and the
“strong trend”
“DPS Graduating Class Up by Nearly 500
Students over Past 2 Years,” Aug.
2, 2011. DPS Press release:
A big focus of the district's
reforms-as laid out in the 2010 Denver Plan-has been high expectations for all students
and increased rigor in all academic programs. At the secondary level, high
school leaders have worked to expand concurrent enrollment in college courses
and Advanced Placement courses to a much broader range of students. These are
accelerated courses that allow students to be eligible to receive college
credit in the subject if they post a qualifying score on the final AP exam or
pass the college-level course.
For the 2010-11 school year, the
district's preliminary data shows that the number of students enrolled in AP
courses grew by more than 300 over the previous year, continuing the strong
trend that started in DPS in 2005.
Over that time, the number of times
that DPS students have taken and earned a qualifying score on AP exams, which
allows them to earn college credit for the class, have also increased
dramatically. AP exams taken has increased from 2310 to 4440 since 2005-06, and
the number of exams earning a qualifying score has increased from 954 to 1504
over that time.
"The leaders at our high schools
have been very focused on student engagement and post-secondary
readiness," DPS Assistant Superintendent Antwan Wilson added. "I want
to thank and commend them and all of their teams-teachers, counselors, and
support staff-for their tremendous commitment to the success of our
students."
[1]
See page 5, “Colorado ranks in top 10
nationwide for scores on Advanced Placement Exams,” Feb.
20, 2013.
[2] “Student AP Scores Rise: Equity
Issues Remain,” Ed Media Commons, by Mikail Zinahteyn, Feb. 20, 2013, http://www.edmediacommons.org/forum/topics/student-ap-scores-rise-equity-issues-remain
[3] See Addendum B -section 3 for results
of CLF’s pilot program, and section 5 for “My comment on CLF’s success in its
pilot project.”
[4] This view
of low pass rates is not shared by some advocates of the effort to expand AP
classes. A strong counterargument speaks
of high pass rates as indicative, in some cases, of excluding too many students
who might well benefit from AP classes. See email to me Dr. Gregory Hesse,
Program Director of the Colorado Legacy Initiative, Addendum B-section 1.
[5] This former English teacher who
taught an AP English class—see next page—is particularly intrigued by the number taking, and not
passing, the literature tests.
[6]
“Cash incentives for achievement on academics a study in progress,” by Kevin
Simpson, Oc.t 18, 2012, The Denver Post. The National Math and Science Initiative
grant--through the Colorado Legacy Foundation–provides funds to cover $89 per
student for the test, awards checks to students, and to teachers who earn $100
for each passing score. “At Widefield
the average reward (for AP teachers) has been about $2,000….” http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21797050/cash-incentives-colorado-students-study-progress.
See also Addendum B- section 2.
[7]
I should acknowledge that the College Board speaks of equity as among its chief
goals, and it offers reduced fees for low-income students who take the
test. See Addendum C.
[8] 2012 figures not yet available.
[9] See examples at Addendum D, taken
from the web site of The College Board, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com.
[10] *A
“qualifying score” means a 3, 4, or 5; a score of 3 or higher is considered passing and equivalent to a college
course score of “middle C” or above. According to the College Board, “AP
Exam scores are reported on a 5-point scale as follows: 5 Extremely
well qualified, 4 Well qualified, 3 Qualified,
2 Possibly qualified, 1 No
recommendation.”
[11] “DPS Graduating Class Up by Nearly 500 Students over Past 2 Years,” Aug. 2,
2011. See Addendum E.
[12] See more on these two schools in
Addendum B-section5 on the Colorado Legacy Foundation Schools.
[13] My question would be—in which cases
is this true? I would like to see this
broken out for those students who were able to score a 2 on the AP test versus
those who scored a 1. I would like to
see this broken out by high schools where there were some qualifications to
enroll in the AP class—often a teacher’s
recommendation—versus those where nearly all students, regardless of their
previous academic performance, could take the course. I would like to see this broken out for
schools like the three in the Colorado Legacy’s pilot program—where the average
ACT scores were within striking distance of being college ready, in contrast to
schools like Abraham Lincoln, South, and Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps in a year or two the Legacy
Foundation will have such information.
