High School Rigor: Iowa AP Index and a Michigan School Board Member

The University of Iowa:

Every May a large number of high school students across America take AP exams. In May 2005 over 1.2 million high school students took over 2.1 million AP exams. AP allows students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Over 3000 colleges accept AP exam scores for either college credit or placement in higher level courses. AP was developed by The College Board and is one of the most successful and respected academic programs in the nation.
There have been numerous studies and articles proclaiming the advantages of AP. AP test scores have been found to be very good predictors of college grades and college graduation. A National Center for Educational Accountability study (2005) indicated that passing AP exams shows a strong and consistent relationship to college graduation rates. Recently, there has been considerable reporting on the benefits of AP courses and exams for minority students and students from poverty backgrounds. Such students exceed their educators’ expectations on AP (when given the opportunity). AP tests and minority students were made famous with the movie “Stand and Deliver” portraying the high success of inner-city Latino students on the AP Calculus exam.

While there is some controversy over AP (e.g., too much material covered in a short time; more breadth than depth) there is strong agreement (backed by research) by educators that AP courses and exams are a rigorous and meaningful indicator of academic preparation for college. Also, AP exams provide a uniform standard of academic accomplishment across geography, economic status, ethnicity and school size. AP exams cover 34 subject areas and exams are scored on a scale of 1-5, with 5 considered top level work (a grade equivalent of an "A") in a corresponding college course. A score of 3 or better is often accepted for either college credit or placement.

Jay Matthews has more:

Colangelo said he thought paying close attention to each school's AP DATA would be a good way to encourage Iowa schools to be more challenging. Only four Iowa public schools qualified for the latest Newsweek list of the country's most challenging public high schools. Colangelo discovered that of the 389 public and private high schools in Iowa, only 213 had at least one student take an AP exam in 2005. Of that group, 187 schools--171 public and 16 private--consented to participate in the Iowa AP Index. "The top 25 schools range in class size from 11 to 378," said the report, co-authored by Colangelo, Susan Assouline, Damien Ihrig and Clar Baldus. "There are 20 public and 5 private schools in the top 25. The #1 school is Rivermont Collegiate High School, a small private school in Bettendorf. The biggest school (based on graduating seniors) in the top 25 is Iowa City High School in Iowa City, Iowa [378 seniors]. The smallest school is Russell High School in Russell, Iowa [11 seniors]." The University of Iowa researchers even found an Iowa school, Roosevelt High in Des Moines, that qualified for the Newsweek list but that I had missed, a mistake I plan to rectify soon.

She said she has asked 85 college admissions officers in the past two years what was the first thing they look for in applicants' transcripts. She said each told her it was "the level of difficulty of the courses taken by a student. It is an automatic assumption that if an able student does not take AP courses when his or her high school offers them, then he or she has chosen not to challenge him or herself."

Mike Reno, a School Board Trustee in Rochester Michigan:

The mission is clearly defined. I proposed ideas, but did not cross the line of micromanaging. The measurement of success is clear: improved MEAP scores and a smaller achievement gap.

One can argue more patience and planning is prudent. Well, this has persisted for years, and while perhaps the administration is already trying things, I believe we need something more bold and aggressive.

I proposed to try this for a year or two and see if it can make a difference. We need to address this issue district-wide, but we need to start where the need is the greatest.

The response I received from some board members seemed to focus on everything but the proposal.

Their concerns over "surprise motions" ring hollow. Mrs. Reseigh's recent motion to cut board member comments from the minutes came without notice, as did Mr. Greimel's motion when he reversed himself on May elections.

And if they liked the idea, but wanted time, why didn't they move to table it until the next meeting?

Cries of "politics" ignore the fact that I have nothing to gain politically by trying to help these schools. It's what I was elected to do. If proposed a month ago, there would've been louder cries of "politics" due to the board election.

It's also puzzling some couldn't understand the plan; it's not complicated, and this board rarely seeks details anyway. For example, there's a budget item of $300,000 for high school reform with absolutely no details whatsoever.

I even suggested the funds could be contingent on a more detailed plan if that's what they wanted.

Barb Schrank compiled a list of AP courses taught at Madison's four high schools last fall: East (8), LaFollette (13), Memorial (16) and West (8). Laurie Frost recently took a look at the four high school's 9th and 10th grade offerings.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 1, 2006 2:52 PM
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