connect to college success tm ap/ib: hype or hope? ap course audit effects midwest regional forum...

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AP/IB: Hype or Hope?AP Course Audit Effects

Midwest Regional Forum February 11, 2008

2



Why conduct an AP Course Audit?

Schools Exams Students

1996 11,712 843,423 537,428

2006 16,000 2.3 million 1.3 million

Percent increase

37% 174% 150%

3



Who participated?

The AP community responded in overwhelming numbers to the inaugural, worldwide review of AP courses.

Where 105,000 syllabi were anticipated, 141,000 were submitted --- and over 14,000 schools participated.

Participant Type Count

Teachers 135,486

Principals 3,066

Administrators 9,744

District Officials 883

College Faculty 839

TOTAL 149,179

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Who evaluated the syllabi?

► Nearly 850 college instructors have served as Reviewers and Senior Reviewers

► For all 37 AP subjects, each reviewer teaches the parallel college course

► Reviewers undergo training and qualifying experiences before beginning ‘live’ evaluations

5



The AP Course Ledger

• Searchable database of over 136,000 courses in more than 14,000 secondary schools worldwide authorized to carry the “AP” label

• Search database by high school, high school code, city, state, and subject

• Entire database is available for download into admission office systems

collegeboard.com/apcourseledger

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What are College Faculty Saying About the Course Audit?“My experience [conducting the audit] was very

encouraging; almost without exception, the syllabi reflected serious preparation and a desire to facilitate learning. That is really what is important.”

– James Riddlesperger, Senior Faculty Reviewer, U.S. Government, Texas Christian University

“Some of these syllabi begin with broad themes, and then combine some texts that one might not naturally put together…these unique approaches make me think about the ingenuity of AP teachers.”

– Bruce Plourde, Senior Faculty Reviewer, English Literature, Temple University

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Survey data

► Effect of the AP Course Audit on the broad range of AP’s constituents

► 26,000 AP teacher respondents

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Almost 70% of AP teachers believe the Audit has helped college and university faculty gain a better understanding of the content that’s covered in their AP course

5%

8%

19%

48%

20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

The audit gives college and university professors a better understanding of the content that's covered in my AP course

Total responses = 25,952

77% of first-year AP teachers believe the audit gives professors a better understanding of the content that’s covered in their AP course

68% agree/strongly agree 59% of GoPo and Economics AP

teachers believe the audit gives professors a better understanding of the content that’s covered in their AP course

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84% of AP teachers believe that consistency in core learning objectives across courses labeled AP is important . . .

2%4%

10%

49%

35%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Consistency in core learning objectives across courses labeled "AP" is not important


80% of art and music AP teachers, and 87% of AP math teachers believe that consistency in core learning objectives is important.

84% disagree/strongly disagree

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67% of AP teachers --- and 81% of new AP teachers --- think the audit provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on their course

21%

46%

17%

11%

5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Total Responses = 26,023

The audit provided a valuable and useful opportunity to reflect on my course

67% agree/strongly agree

62% of AP teachers in private schools thought that the audit provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on their course

81% of first-year AP teachers felt the audit provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on their course

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74% of AP teachers believe that the benefits to students of the AP label on college-bound transcripts made the audit process worthwhile

26%

48%

16%

6%

3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%


The benefits to my students of the AP label on college-bound transcripts make the audit process worthwhile


68% of AP teachers in private schools and 69% of GoPo and Economics AP teachers believe that the benefits to their students make the audit process worthwhile

74% agree/strongly agree

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Almost half of AP Teachers felt that they improved their course as a result of the Audit

3%

3%

5%

4%

3%

3%

6%

13%

32%

8%

10%

9%

10%

11%

15%

27%

36%

34%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

I received additional pay or a stipend from myschool or district for my w ork in preparing for the

AP Course Audit

The audit gave me leverage to obtain funds toattend AP Summer Institutes or other AP-related

professional development

The audit gave me leverage to obtain higherquality text books

The audit resources I used on AP Central and theCourse Audit w eb site w ere not helpful to me

The audit gave me leverage to obtain or preserveoptimal amounts of instructional time and/or lab

time

The audit alerted me to changes in the AP courseor exam that I hadn't yet incorporated into my

course

I now have a better understanding of w hatcolleges' core curricular expectations are

I improved my AP course as a result of the audit

Developing and refining my syllabus requiredmore of my time than I expected

Strongly Agree Agree

% strongly agree/agree

66%

49%

33%

18%

14%

14%

14%

13%

11%

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60% of AP teachers that have taught AP from 1-3 years believe they improved their course as a result of their participation in the audit

7%

15%

19%

42%

18%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

1-3 years as AP teacher

I improved my AP course as a result of the audit

60% strongly agree/agree

Total responses = 6809

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Nearly one in five AP teachers felt that the Audit alerted them to changes in the AP course or exam that they hadn’t yet incorporated into their course

3%

15%

21%

41%

20%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%


The audit alerted me to changes in the AP course or exam that I hadn't yet incorporated into my course


*21% of AP English teachers felt the Audit alerted them to changes in the AP course or exam that they had not yet incorporated into their course

**14% of AP math teachers felt the Audit alerted them to changes in the AP course or exam that they had not yet incorporated into their course

***24% of AP teachers in schools with greater than 50% f/r lunch felt the audit alerted them to changes

18% strongly agree/agree

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Student Group AP Exam Grade of 3, 4, 5

African-American 28% higher

Hispanic 28% higher

White 33% higher

Low-Income 26% higher

Not Low-Income 34% higher

Source: Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (National Center for Accountability 2006)

AP and 5-Year College Graduation Rates

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Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd Study(in press)• Followed 5 cohorts of students in Texas colleges from

1988-2002. SAT scores and Reduced Price Lunch status were used as statistical control variables.

• Students who had taken one or more AP courses in a Texas high school:

• had higher graduation rates

• earned a higher subject-area GPA in sequent courses

• completed more courses in the discipline

• Earned higher first-year and fourth-year college GPAs (The increase was higher still for students who took both the AP Course and the corresponding AP Exam.)

connect to college success tm ap/ib: hype or hope? ap course audit effects midwest regional forum...

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