AP at VHS

AP at VHS-What

History?

College Coursework offered in a high schoolHistory: Ford Foundation and Kenyon Plan 1955Acceleration, university credit and admissionDistinguished from dual-credit

AP at VHS-ResearchResearch says…Answers in the Toolbox, 2006 USDOE“the academic intensity of the student’s high school curriculum sill counts more than anything else…in providing momentum toward completing a bachelor’s degree”

Jobs for the Future, 2008Exposure to a rigorous curriculum is a better predictor of academic success in college than such variables ass the education level of parents, test scores, class rank, GPA, or family background.

NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), 2009“71 percent of surveyed NACAC members attributed considerable importance to strength of curriculum, compared to only 58 percent attributing that level of importance to admission test scores and 16 percent attributing that level of importance to class rank.”

AP at VHS-WhyWhy for Students?Rigorous curriculumStand out in the admissions process Earn academic scholarships and awards from collegesExperience college-level academics now, while they're still in high school Save time and money once they get to collegeEarn AP Scholar awards, an academic distinction

Taken from: apcentralcollegeboard.com

AP at VHS-21 CoursesArt:AP Studio Art

Computer Science:AP Computer Science

Language Arts:AP LanguageAP Literature

Math:AP Calculus ABAP Calculus BCAP Statistics

Music:AP Music Theory

Science:AP BiologyAP ChemistryAP Environmental ScienceAP Physics

Social Studies:AP European HistoryAP PsychologyAP US GovernmentAP US HistoryAP World History

World Language:AP ChineseAP FrenchAP Latin AP Spanish Language

AP at VHS-ExamsTestsWhen: May 6-May 17

Formats: Multiple choice and free response except AP Studio Art

Cost: $89.00 ($53 - state aid for FRL)

Transcript: “AP _____” if test is taken“Accelerated _____ “ if test isn’t taken

AP at VHS-FacultyAP Council-24 Outstanding TeachersCertification: AP Audit

DMACC certified for dual-enrollment too

Training: AP one-day conferences or webinars (4, 2012-2013)Summer workshops (5, 2012)Readers (5)AP Coordinator for Belin-Blank Center (1)

AP at VHS-National, State and Local

2012 Students Exams % 3, 4, 5

National 2,106,916 3,714,278 62%

Iowa 10,452 16,448 64%

Valley 391 768 73%

AP at VHS-Enrollments

AP CouncilIncreased offerings annuallyEducate parents at Future Planning ConferencesEncourage students during Registration Planning DayAP Potential

AP at VHS-Enrollments

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

Enrollments 616 756 867 1154

% Growth -3% 23% 15% 33%

AP at VHS-Equity Equity

African-American Increase 56% in 2012-2013Latino Increase 85% in 2012-2013Equity and Access Statistic:

%of seniors who took at least one exam and got a score of 3, 4 or 5VHS approximately 30% for the last three years

Exams taken have expanded significantly in the last 5 yearsExcellence mean declined by .6% in the last three years-still in passing range

AP at VHS-DataData Available:School Summaries and RostersEquity and Excellence ReportAP Instructional Planning Report-by sectionTeachers work on instructional teams and individually:

Inform instructionCompare to Iowa and national norms Work with vertical feeders about skillsUse as a rationale for work with studentsCelebrate

VLT uses data:To analyze enrollment/registration/communication structuresTo ask questionsTo inform TLS of any scope and sequence patternsTo help teachers reflect during professional growth

AP at VHS-CelebrationsCelebrations:

Equity & Excellence #9 and growing AP Iowa Index from Belin-Blank Center

Anecdotal Student quotes…“We are well prepared.”“My freshman college classes are easy.”“My professors addressed those concepts in college. Thank you.”

AP at VHS-DistinctionsDistinctions: Will be honored (2012) at graduation

AP Scholar: 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams (49-2012)

AP Scholar with Honor: an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more exams (18-2012)

AP Scholar with Distinction: an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more exams (35-2012)

State AP Scholar: one male and one female student in each U.S. state with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP exams and the highest average (1-2012)

National AP Scholar: an average grade of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more exams (9-2012)

AP at VHS-ChallengesChallenges:

Class sizes for individual attention and stretching studentsProfessional development & vertical team articulationCommunication with first-time college students and familiesStaffing and movement between levelsSupports

AP at VHS

Questions?

36 Principal Leadership | April 2013

A R igorous Curriculum

Really Matters s every good secondary administrator knows, rigorous curricula matter.

Challenging curricula is the factor in lifting each student to reach their potential: “the academic intensity of the student’s high school curriculum still counts more than anything else...in providing mo-mentum toward completing a bachelor’s degree” (Adelman, 2006, p. xviii). Exposure to a rigorous curriculum is a better predictor of academic success in college than such variables as the education level of parents, test scores, class rank, GPA, or family background (Jobs for the Future, 2008).

Those are the main reasons why college admissions offices use the strength of a student’s high school curriculum as an important factor in college admission (Clinedinst & Hawkins, 2010). In a study by the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in 2009, “71 per-cent of surveyed NACAC members attributed considerable importance to strength of curriculum, compared to only 58 percent attributing that level of importance to admission test scores and 16 percent attributing that level of importance to class rank” (NACAC, n.d., p. 1).

The College Board is even researching an academic rigor index to pos-sibly give admissions offices a tool that they can use to evaluate students’ course work (Wyatt, Wiley, Camara, & Proestler, 2012). Sure, rigorous cur-ricula can be defined slightly differently by admissions offices, but AP and IB curricula fall into the category of universal acceptance because there is a national standard of measurement for all test takers. So if leaders know the importance of rigorous curricula, they should be creating necessary infra-structure, preparing students, encouraging enrollment, and maintaining sup-portive environments for successful experiences.

AP Infrastructure and Organic ChangeValley High School is a suburban high school with just under 2,000 students in grades 10–12 located outside of Des Moines, IA. Valley has been growing its AP program for decades by slowly expanding AP course offerings year

To better prepare students for postsecondary opportunities, a high school grows its AP program.

The school dedicates a day for teachers to meet individually with students to encourage them to take the most rigorous curriculum at which they can succeed.

Teachers’ efforts to recruit potential AP students resulted in an increase of enrollments: 33% in total, 56% for African American students, and 85% for Latino students.

AErika Cook

37April 2013 | Principal Leadership

by year and recruiting and training a strong core of outstanding AP faculty members, known as the “AP council.” The AP council meets quarterly and focuses on a variety of issues, such as teacher test schedules, data analysis, and enrollment barriers.

Last year, the council emphasized awareness and the benefits of the AP classes, especially for students who have not yet taken an AP course and their parents. Some innovative ideas included giving informational sessions dur-ing conferences, writing pamphlets, educating faculty members from feeder schools, sending letters to families, and encouraging students to enroll in ap-propriate AP courses. Discussions among the council members were honest, and members talked about their concerns about teachers making judgments on the basis of students’ AP scores, having different philosophies about “AP students,” and confusion about dual enrollment. Despite those issues, the strong AP course infrastructure, an outstanding AP council of teacher leaders, and the school community’s attention to expanding AP enrollment helped Valley’s AP program become ready for continued expansion with 2 new AP courses, resulting in a total of 20 offered.

After teaching the faculty of the high school and feeder schools about the registration process, the curriculum catalog was released to students and parents. A new method was implemented to give teachers a day of class time to counsel students about appropriate course work. The day was modeled

© Jon Feingersh/Blend Images/Corbis

38 Principal Leadership | April 2013

after a practice used at several high-achieving high schools as a means of empowering subject-area teachers to recommend courses for the coming year.

After this day, parents came to the school to meet with their children’s advisers to review the course requests before they were finalized. To demystify the program and courses, teach-ers offered informational sessions about AP courses to explain the workload, the curricula, the benefits and the differences between dual-enrollment and AP courses, and the resources that are available to help students succeed. Teachers distributed AP pamphlets at the ses-sions and to interested students in classes.

In conjunction, the tools available through AP Potential and ACT Plan were used to iden-tify potential AP students, and the school sent letters of encouragement to the families of those students. Because only a small number of students at Valley take the PSAT or ACT, the letters weren’t widely distributed, but were one more approach to encouraging students to take AP classes. More importantly, empowered teachers identified potential in their students and encouraged them to try taking an AP course or other rigorous curricula during the dedicated day and the registration window. Because of the school community’s efforts, more information was available to parents and students in regard to the AP benefits and cur-ricular offerings at Valley during registration.

ResultsAs a result of Valley’s efforts, the numbers of students taking AP classes rose by 33%. In pre-vious years, including the year of the weighted AP grade for taking the exam, the highest increase was 23%, with the year before being 15%. AP enrollments in the 2008–09 school year were 636. In 2009–10, enrollments fell to 616, but increased each year thereafter. The current AP enrollment is 1,154. (See figure 1.)

Those data are the AP enrollments for courses taught at the Valley campus only. They

Ways to Increase AP Enrollmentn Offer informational sessions for parents and students that are led by

AP teachers

n Send letters using AP Potential– and ACT Plan–correlated testing data to predict the probability of individual students’ success

n Dedicate a day of class time during registration for teachers to encourage students to take AP classes

n Distribute pamphlets that detail AP course offerings and the benefits of taking AP classes

n Teach high school and feeder school faculty members about the benefits of rigorous curricula

n Use equity instead of scores to laud faculty members and show improvement

AP Enrollments at Valley High SchoolFigure 1

1200

1100

1000

900

800

700

6002008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012

AP Enrollments

Valley students had 636 enrollments in AP courses in 2008–09; 616 in 2009–10; 756 in 2010–11; 867 in 2011–12; and 1,154 in 2012–13.

39April 2013 | Principal Leadership

do not include AP courses that are held off campus or that are taken online. It is also important to note that there was a change in the math department’s course progression, and more students were taking AP Calculus AB, which accounted for approximately 8% of the 2012–13 total enrollments. The hope is that students will take the AP exams at the same rate and have better college admission and graduation opportunities.

As this trend ensues, most AP equity critics ask about excellence or performance on AP exams. Over the past three years, although Valley’s AP enrollments and exams have expanded significantly, Valley’s average AP score only declined by 0.6 and remained in the passing range. The difference was not large, and it echoes the same trend documented by national research: despite the increase in AP enrollments, the average of students’ scores does not significantly decrease (Lewin, 2010). Mere exposure to a rigorous curriculum—even without passing the exam—is helpful for indi-vidual students and increases their chances of success in college (Adelman, 1999).

In the field of AP equity, it is a well-known fact that “disadvantaged and traditionally underserved high school students complete a rigorous curriculum…at lower rates than their white and affluent peers” (National Associa-tion for College Admission Counselors, 2012, p. 1). The demographics at Valley comprise a student body with African American and Latino populations at about 5% each. The AP enrollment numbers fall short for the his-torically underrepresented groups. Last year some progress was made, however. Because of teacher identification and encouragement, the enrollment of African American students improved by 56% and enrollment for Latino students went up 85%. The jump in AP enroll-ment should be celebrated, but work must still

be done to improve the enrollment of underrepresented student groups and ensure successful experiences for current students.

ChallengesThe shadow over the increase of students in rigorous curriculum can be the decline in en-rollment numbers in other courses. In schools that base staffing on student requests, this result can mean a change in full-time faculty positions in different departments or programs. In expanding AP enrollments, it is best for staffing budgets to be able to absorb the shift.

To create a culture of AP equity instead of elitism, faculty members and administra-tors must understand the benefits of rigorous curricula. One successful tactic is to emphasize enrollment and test-taking numbers when sharing data with faculty members, district administrators, and school board members. Administrators should laud programs and teachers who encourage students, scaffold curricula, and open doors that have historically been closed.

In addition to a simple count of how many AP exams the students have taken and how many students have taken exams, the College Board also produces an equity and excel-lence statistic: the number of seniors who scored a 3 or better on an AP exam in high school divided by the total number of seniors. This data point is a valuable tool in recogniz-ing schools that demonstrate excellence and growth, instead of focusing solely on scores or the number of test takers.

SustainabilityThe key to the current success at Valley is that the change was organic. It wasn’t incentive-based, such as reimbursing students’ exam fees if they pass their exams or a top-down mandate to ensure AP enrollments. Instead, it was the result of empowered teachers educat-ing students and parents.

40 Principal Leadership | April 2013

In the future, Valley will face many chal-lenges in sustaining its number of AP enroll-ments and growth. Strong supports for cur-rent students to experience success in the AP courses and on the exams are immediate needs. Focusing on underrepresented groups, recruit-ing and training more AP faculty members, articulating pre-AP skills, and stabilizing staff-ing for all departments will be important to the program’s success.

Even if schools have obstacles to expand-ing their AP/IB programs, challenging curricula should be available to all students. Exposure to rigorous curricula in high school is the most important factor in preparing students for college. Traditional mind-sets of elitism and barriers of exclusion are now antiquated. The job of educational leaders is to support organic expansion efforts that minimize negative out-comes and inspire a culture of AP equity. PL

RefeRenCeS n Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the tool box. Re-trieved from US Department of Education website: www2.ed.gov/pubs/Toolbox/index.html n Adelman, C. (2006). The toolbox revisited. Retrieved from US Department of Education website: www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs /toolboxrevisit/toolbox.pdf

n Almeida, C., & Steinberg, A. (2008). Raising graduation rates in an era of high standards: Five commitments for state action jobs for the future. Retrieved from Jobs for the Future website: www.jff .org/sites/default/files/raisinggradrates.pdfn Clinedinst, M. E., & Hawkins, D. A. (2010). 2010 state of college admission. Retrieved from National Association of College Admissions Counseling website: www.nacacnet.org/research/Publications Resources/Marketplace/Documents/SoCA2010.pdfn Lewin, T. (2010, February 11). Expansion of A.P. tests also brings more failures. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.comn National Association for College Admission Counselors. (n.d.). Policy brief: Rigorous curriculum. Retrieved from www.nacacnet.org/issues-advocacy /policy/Documents/Rigorous%20Curriculum.pdfn Wyatt, J., Wiley, A., Camara, W., & Proestler, N. (2012). The development of an index of academic rigor for college readiness. Retrieved from College Board website: http://research.collegeboard.org/sites /default/files/publications/2012/7/researchreport -2011-11-development-index-academic-rigor -college-success.pdf

Valley High SchoolWeST DeS MOIneS, IA

Grades: 10–12

enrollment: 1,951

Community: Suburban

demoGraphiCs: 75% White, 5% African American, 5% Asian, 5% Latino, 10% other; 18% free and reduced-price lunch

administrative team: 1 principal & 3 associate principals

Erika Cook (erikalynncook@att.net) is the associate principal of academics at Valley High School in West Des Moines, IA, and has served as an AP teacher/reader/consultant and as an educational manager at the College Board.