Preparing for Success in College, Career, and Life

1. Preparing for Success in College, Career, and Life The Opportunities, Realities, and Value of AP and PLTW Courses

2. What is Advanced Placement? • Developed and maintained through the College Board • Nationally Recognized Rigorous Curriculum • College level courses aligned to best practices and expectations • Culminate with Rigorous Examinations • Incorporate higher-order and critical thinking skills

3. AP Biology (Lab/Lecture) AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC AP Chemistry (Lab/Lecture) AP Comparative Govt & Pol AP Economics Macro AP Economics Micro AP English Language AP English Literature AP Environmental Science AP European History AP French Language 5 AP Physics C (Lab/Lecture) AP Psychology AP Spanish Language 5 AP Statistics AP U.S. Govt & Pol AP U.S. History AP World History AP Course Offered at NFHS/FPS

4. What is Project Lead The Way? • Developed and maintained through PLTW and the support of the Kern Family Foundation • Rigorous, college level curricula combined with a hands-on learning environment • Focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) • Culminate in rigorous examinations and project based performance assessment

5. PLTW Courses Offered • Intro to Engineering Design (Currently offered) • Principles of Engineering (Currently Offered) • Computer Integrated Manufacturing (Potentially Offered) • Civil Engineering and Architecture (Potentially Offered) • Digital Electronics • Aerospace Engineering • Biotechnical Engineering • Engineering Design and Development

6. Architectural Design & Construction

7. Engineering & Design Technology

8. PLTW Contact Mark Skodack - mark.skodack@farmington.k12.mi.us

9. Additional College Level Options • Dual Enrollment • Calculus 3 (Potentially)

10. The AP Experience

11. Why Should You Pursue and Complete AP and PLTW Coursework?

12. Will Things Ever Again Be the Way They Were? “Up until the '70s, you could come to the city without education, without speaking English, and get a job in the auto industry and instantly be in the middle class, economically speaking,” said Mike Stewart, director of Wayne State's Walter P. Reuther Library and an expert on the auto industry. “A lot of folks in the city depended on these jobs for generations — they don't exist anymore,” he said. “A lot of Detroiters are unprepared, educationally and technologically, to cope.” DAVID CRARY and COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writers, December 2008

13. How can we prepare students to face this new future? • We need to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to get into, and successfully complete, college

14. Key Characteristics of US College Prep System • Dependent on access to • designated courses (college prep curriculum) • privileged knowledge (how the system actually works) • specialized supports (help with application and financial aid process)

15. Also dependent on • significant student self-reliance, motivation, perseverance • family and community support • ability to make a successful transition to a new “culture”: the environment of postsecondary education with new roles, rules, and expectations

16. In short, it is not easy for students to be prepared for, get into, and succeed in college

17. Why Is It Important for More Students to Be College and Career Ready? • Two-thirds of high school grads go directly to college, three-quarters within five years of graduation • The numbers are forecasted to continue to increase

18. Large numbers end up in remedial courses or fail to persist beyond the first year • From 20% to 80%, depending on the institution type, end up in remediation • First-generation college attendees comprise a disproportionate number of remedial placements and non-persisters

19. The proportion of first-generation college attendees will continue to increase as far into the future as we can project • All students need: • A different kind of college preparation • Access to “privileged knowledge” • Greater confidence in their own abilities • Greater confidence that they are prepared

20. A New Definition of College-Ready The level of preparation a student needs in order to enroll and succeed—without remediation—in credit-bearing general education coursesthat meet requirements for a baccalaureate degree

21. “Succeed”is defined as completing entry-level courses at a level of understanding and proficiency sufficient to: • pass a subsequent course in the subject area • apply course knowledge to another subject area

22. This definition presents the NFHS Community with a clear target for preparation: • Apply expectations students will encounter in first-year college courses, including students pursuing technical education in the post-secondary plans

23. Accessibility

24. Open Enrollment for AP

25. 4 Key Dimensions of College Readiness Download at: www.epiconline.org

26. Performances of College-ready Students • Write a 3-5 page research paper that is structured around a cogent, coherent line of reasoning • Read with understanding a range of non-fiction publications, textbooks, and technical materials • Produce written products that are consistently free of grammatical and spelling errors and that reflect proper writing conventions 28

27. Performances of College-ready Students • Employ fundamentals of algebra fluently to solve multi-step and non-routine problems • Collect and analyze data precisely and accurately • Interpret conflicting explanations of an event or phenomenon • Evaluate the credibility of sources

28. Performances of College-ready Students • Punctually attend a study group outside of class • Create and maintain a personal schedule that includes a to-do list with prioritized tasks and appointments • Complete successfully a problem or assignment that requires about two weeks of independent work and extensive research 30

29. Performances of College-ready Students • Utilize key technological tools including appropriate online and desktop applications • Locate websites containing information on colleges, the admissions process, and financial aid • Present an accurate self-assessment of readiness for college

30. Lessons Learned from This Research • Few high school students are fully ready in all four dimensions of college readiness • Readiness requires the development of strategies that must be practiced and honed throughout high school

31. Lessons Learned from This Research • Students should be challenged cognitively even if they are still developing their literacy and language skills • Student support programs must help prepare students to be successful, not just be there when they are struggling

32. What AP is Like

33. Key Principles of College Readiness • Principle 1: Create and maintain a college-going culture in the school • Principle 2: Create a core academic program that is aligned with and leads to college readiness by the end of 12th grade • Principle 3: Teach key self-management skills, require students to use them, and provide students with feedback on how well they are developing these skills

34. Principle 4: Make college real by preparing students for the complexity of applying to college and enrolling in an entry-level course • Principle 5: Create assignments and grading policies in high school that more closely approximate college expectations as students progress

35. Principle 6: Make the senior year meaningful and challenging • Principle 7: Build partnerships with and connections to postsecondary programs and institutions

36. Why AP or PLTW?

37. How Colleges View AP AP course experience favorably impacts admissions decisions at 85 percent of selective colleges and universities. “We look favorably on students who have taken AP courses. The presence of AP courses is a sign that a student has chosen to challenge him/herself.” AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin Board

38. What does the research say? • Examined 222,289 students from all backgrounds attending a wide range of Texas universities • Researchers found "strong evidence of benefits to students who participate in both AP courses and exams in terms of higher GPAs, credit hours earned, and four-year graduation rates."

39. Research on AP

40. Research on AP

41. Predictive Relationship between AP Enrollment and Performance and College Readiness as a Success Measure • For students who took no AP classes in high school - 17% will graduate within 5 years of enrollment in college

42. Predictive Relationship between AP Enrollment and Performance and College Readiness as a Success Measure • For students who took at least one AP course but did not take an AP exam - 37% will graduate within 5 years of enrollment in college

43. Predictive Relationship between AP Enrollment and Performance and College Readiness as a Success Measure • For students who took at least one AP course, took the exam, but did not pass the exam (scored a 1 or 2) - 42% will graduate within 5 years of enrollment in college

44. Predictive Relationship between AP Enrollment and Performance and College Readiness as a Success Measure • For students who took at least one AP course, took the exam, and passed the exam (scored a 3, 4, or 5) - 64% will graduate within 5 years of enrollment in college

45. The Benefits of AP

46. Success for All Students According to the National Center for Educational Accountability: • An AP Exam grade, and a grade of 3 or higher in particular, is a strong predictor of a student’s ability to persist in college and earn a bachelor’s degree.

47. AP and Diversity

48. Students Who Participate • 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

49. Sources • College Board. http://www.collegeboard.com • AP 50 Years: Higher Standards, Higher Learning. 2005. DVD. Directed by Ethan Vogt. New York, NY: Furnace Media, 2005. • Conley, David T. College Knowledge: How to Get Students Ready to Succeed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2005. • Conley, D.T. “Redefining College Readiness.” Educational Policy & Improvement Center. Retrieved on February 12 (2009): 2010. • Conley, D. T. “Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness.” Educational Policy & Improvement Center. Retrieved on July 2 (2007): 2008. • Conley, D. T. “The challenge of college readiness.” Leadership (2007). • Conley, D. T, and P. C Trusts. Understanding University Success: A Report from Standards for Success: a Project of the Association of American Universities and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Center for Educational Policy Research, 2003. • Hargrove, L., D. Godin, and B. Dodd. College outcomes comparisons by AP and non-AP high school experiences. New York: The College Board, 2008. • Dougherty, C., L. Mellor, S. Jian, and others. “The relationship between Advanced Placement and college graduation.” National Center for Educational Accountability. NCEA Study Series Report 1 (2005).