District Administration - April 2006 - (Page 68)

ADVANCED PLACEMENT AP Tip ready to take AP Calculus when they reached high school, for example. AP Potential is a free Web-based tool available to school administra- tors. It correlates the performance on PSAT/NMSQT test questions and Strategic Support success on AP exams to identify students likely to score 3 or higher on the It was about building participation exam. Florida has used this to identify such students and has great suc- and considering how to improve criti- cess in increasing numbers of traditionally underserved students succeed- ca l reading and writing strategies of ing on AP exams. young people so they were AP ready, appo tential.collegeboard.com / welcome.do Barron says. Now, Chicago schools are doing a better job in collecting data, in terms of how many students are taking courses compared to how many are taking tests. They also keep better hard can you work?' Wright asks. If a courses by the time they reach high records of which teachers have been kid really wants it we'll give it to him. school and invest more in feeder trained in AP. Now, administrators Once students are in AP, as in schools. The district also eliminated can see the numbers of students most schools nationwide, students 286 courses that weren't rigorous taking AP courses and numbers of have to stay in class, even if they are enough and weren't aligned to any students taking exams, and compare failing, Wright says. Most students uniform curriculum. And the district that to how many got a 3 or better. are successful, even if they are in is building on professional develop- You can't hide anymore, Barron over their heads. The kid that fails ment , adding 7.4 new teachers for says. We know we have to look at is failing because they chose not to AP this coming year at a cost of the rigor in those classes. work, Wright says. $517,000, Hairston says. At Lincoln Park High School in Hairston says even students who I Chicago, administrators are proud only score a 2 on the final exam are still to have the largest AP program in graduating at a higher skill level than Illinois, administering more exams they would if they had no exposure to it. than any other school in the state last n Miami-Dade, administrators T he district's AVID, or Achieve- year. It was ranked #31 in last year's also created a summer program for ment Via Individual Determination, Newsweek's top 100 schools based on transitioning eighth graders to being program helps boost rigor, where AP and IB programs. freshmen. Students learn at a young students who were identified four With 33 percent of the student body age what they must study and what years ago as heading in a bad direc- being black, 30 percent being white college fairs they must attend if they t ion are taking AP courses now and and 17 percent being Hispanic, 88 per- want a college career, Zarraluqui says. receiving college scholarships. cent of the seniors who took AP scored The four-week summer program cov- But on the downside, Hairston 3 or above on the exam. Last year, ers language arts and math with a admits that pushing such rigor on about 53 percent of the senior class was specific curriculum designed by the students and teachers is overwhelm- in at least one AP class. College Board, with pre- and post-tests i ng at times. Students have lives and The success at Lincoln Park may be to expose students to what it takes. teachers have lives, he says. in part due to the screening of students Like Chicago, guidance counselors It requires in part a relentless to ensure they can handle the load, in Miami-Dade discuss with students focus, tutoring, getting students to according to assistant principal Phyllis their courses for the following year believe in themselves and asking Wright. In the spring before the fall and encourage students to take more questions of the teacher, he says. when students would start AP, expecta- rigorous courses. They might not have Obviously, when you begin to tions are carefully explained to students straight A's but they have a desire to raise the level of expectation you and parents, Wright says. The student take the course, Zarraluqui says. change the level of aspiration at may want AP Calculus and English, but In Baltimore County, Hairston's the same time, Hairston says. The a central control officer that reviews Blueprint for Progress maps every objectives are that children can be all the student's course load from previous student's instructional program, they can be and we ask the same of our staff. DA years, including grades, realizes it might something the College Board has be too much. It sounds a bit schmaltzy, been advocating, and pushes to but you look into the kid's heart and we strengthen middle school instruction, Angela Pascopella is senior say, `How much do you want this? How have students take more rigorous features editor. 68 April 2006 District Administration APstory.w.indd 68 3/20/06 10:56:15 AM http://appotential.collegeboard.com/welcome.do

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - April 2006

Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Measuring Value
Budget Talk
Underfunded
Are Your Schools Competitive?
Back from the Brink
Rigorous Expectations
Getting Connected
How to Get Your Bond Passed
The Online Edge/Odvard Egil Dyrli
Speaking Out/Gary Stager
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Leadership Books
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - April 2006