Bringing Equity to the Forefront

Raphael Curtis

The College Board• Difficulty applying to colleges

• Single college entrance exam• SAT

• ETS development• Operational/Administrative

• Development of secondary ed. curriculum• Advance Placement (AP)

• NCLB

Our Mission

The College Board’s mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. We are a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education.

What is RIGORRIGOR?

What is RIGORRIGOR?Default college- and work-ready curriculum (one that prepares students

equally for college and for work in highly skilled jobs), students

performance benchmarks that ensure comparability of high-level

curriculum across classes in the same subject, and clear vertical

alignment of the curriculum so that course sequences in each subject

build solid skills over time with a minimum of repetition and no gaps.

“Rigor” is the design element with the greatest consensus backing it, in

large part because many research studies have identified the rigor of the

high school curriculum as the single largest predictor of whether

students of all races, classes, and achievement levels will succeed in

postsecondary education.

Today’s Reality• 71% of students plan to attend a four-year college

• 51% of parents believe their children will go to college

• 32% of teachers think their students will go to college

• 5% of students anticipate working full-time after high school

• 11% of parents and 28% of teachers see working full-time after high school as their goal for their children and students

Louisiana• 24% of LA schools have AP programs

• 32 out of 66 districts offer AP programsSource: The Metropolitan Life Survey of The American Teacher, 2000: Are We Preparing Students for the 21st

Century?

AP and College Success™

Students who take AP courses and exams are much more likely than their peers to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years or less.Source: Camara, Wayne. (2003). College Persistence, Graduation, and Remediation. College Board Research Notes (RN-19). New York, NY: College Board.

29

45

61

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

No AP

One AP

Two+ AP

Equity and Access

• Guiding principle

• All students deserve opportunity

• Eliminate barriers that restrict access

• Reflect diversity of the student population

• Is your AP program growing?

Barriers Blocking AP Participation

The Excellence vs. Access

Debate

Declaring War on Mediocrity

Oh, I'm real all right. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts. Your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics the world has ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that *everyone* can have powers. *Everyone* can be Super! And when everyone's Super... no one will be.

The Incredibles, Disney/Pixar 2004

Excellence and equity in education

• Access important but not enough• Fee waivers for students from low-income families

• Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)

• Preparation important for persistence*• 1 in 4 freshmen at 4-year colleges doesn’t return

• 1 in 2 freshmen at 2-year colleges doesn’t return

• Remedial coursework needed by many freshmen**• 35% of entering students in 2000

• 28% of entering students in 1995Sources: * Education Trust report cited by Seattle Times Eastside Bureau 12-9-03;

** NCES study: “Remedial Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions in Fall 2000”

Program Updates

• Equity and Access

• “Watering down” of AP courses

• Impact of participation increase on scores 3-5

• 1998: Mean AP Grade: 3.03

• 2004: Mean AP Grade: 2.98

Difficulty in Recruiting Students for AP Courses

Attract

The same medicine without the irritation

vs.

The New PSAT/NMSQT for Fall 2004

The best way for students to practice for the SAT

AP Potential™: Free to all PSAT/NMSQT® schools

• Web-based tool using PSAT/NMSQT data• Identifies “diamond-in-the-rough” students

• Indicates AP® courses for which they might be suited

• Provides useful lists for principals, teachers and counselors• Expand AP program with potential for additional courses

• Increase enrollment in current AP courses

• Visit http://appotential.collegeboard.com for more information

Caution!• PSAT Scores should NEVER be

used as the sole criteria for placement in AP courses

• PSAT scores should NEVER be used as the primary indicator for AP courses

• Appropriate prerequisite courses

• Good prior performance in that content area

• Motivation to take an AP course

• Interest in the subject

Why Not?

Are Your School’s AP® Opportunities Expanding?

• Diversity of student pool

• Review of eligibility policy

• AP® enrollment vs. AP Exam takers

• Score distribution

• Are students being prepared

Rewards of AP

• Prepare for success in college by taking college-level courses while still in high school

• Opportunity to earn college credit or advanced placement

• Opportunity to earn awards, scholarships, and improve chances of college admission

• Demonstrate school’s commitment to challenging academics

• Upgrade of curriculum in Pre-AP years -- through cross-grade vertical teams of teachers

• National community of AP teachers participating in ongoing teacher professional development

Rewards of AP

• Outperform their peers when placed into advanced courses

• Are more likely to take advanced courses in their AP subject areas

• Are more likely to choose challenging majors

• Are more likely to graduate with a double major

• Are twice as likely to go into advanced study

Expanding Access

• What is needed to create access to AP?

• Prepared schools

• Prepared teachers

• Prepared students

• Curriculum & instructional resources

• Examination fee support for students in need

Pre-AP

• K-12 Professional Development • Resources and services for teachers

• High school and middle school• Vertical Teaming

• Classroom Strategies

• Instructional Leadership

• Follows two important premises• All students can perform at rigorous levels

• Early involvement = better development

Strategies for Success

• Launch a public relations campaign

• Conduct class visits to earlier grades

• Utilize student organizations and/or minority groups

• Attend faith-based gatherings

• Parent and student orientation

• Contact admissions officers

• Invite recent graduates to talk to students

Strategies for Success

• Relay the benefits of the program

• Capitalize on student experience

• Evaluate your student selection policy

• Use the PSAT/NMSQT

• Make use of College Board resources

• Use data and reports sent to schools

Strategies for Success

• Peer mentoring for students who are struggling

• Taking students to visit college campuses

• Telephone calls to parents

• Written, comprehensive AP Plan

• “Reculturalization”

• Scaffolding for teachers

Equity and Access in Staffing

• Teacher Selection Criteria

• Professional Development• AP Workshops

• AP Summer Institutes

• Full-day Teaching and Learning Conferences

• Two-day specialty conferences

• Special Topics Seminars

• Pre-AP Conferences and Summer Institutes

• AP Readings

Assessing Teacher Equity

• Do teachers currently teaching AP represent different gender and ethnic groups?

• Are there new teachers teaching AP, or is an AP course treated as a reward for certain teachers?

• Has the current AP teacher participated in AP professional development?

• Is there a teacher (teachers) ready to step in if the current AP teacher retires, resigns, becomes ill…?

• Are teachers trained in AP who are not currently teaching the AP course?

• How many teachers are teaching an AP course with multiple sections?

• Example

Tips and Tactics for Teachers

• AP is a college-level program.

• Indicate the necessary working knowledge.

• Collaborate: teaching is not an isolated activity.

• Teach to the middle.

• Don’t reinvent the wheel.

• Facilitate: let students be a guide.

Think FAR

•Find

•Attract

•Retain

Retain

• Artificial barriers to retention• Lack of support mechanisms

• Poor alignment of “pre-AP” courses

• Lack of commitment to the “cause”

Retain

• Natural barriers to retention• Perceptions about who takes these classes

• Isolation

• Internal conflicts about issues such as GPA vs. Rigor