Coordinating and Building Your School’s AP Program

1. Coordinating and Building Your School’s AP Program Laurel Ciervo, Dean of Student Services Orcutt Academy High School

2. 5 years as AP Coordinator Started in 2010 with 1 AP class This year administered 13 different AP tests, 5 late tests Tests administered: 275 School size: 560 students My background

3. OAHS Data “Success” on an AP Exam is defined as an exam score of 3 or higher, which represents the score point that research finds predictive of college success and college graduation. 

4. District Administrator School Administrator Counselor Teacher Other I am a…

5. Large School over 3,000 students Large School 1,500 – 2,999 students Small School 800 – 1,499 students Small School under Other I work at a…

6. Learn how to grow my current AP program Learn how to Coordinate my AP Program Start a Program at my School Both A and B Reason for attending this session…

7. No experience Little experience Much experience Experience Coordinating AP Exams…

8. Coordinating the AP Program Creating a successful AP program requires teamwork, evaluation of resources, planning, and setting achievable goals. 

9. Art HistoryBiologyCalculus ABCalculus BCChemistryChinese Language and CultureComparative Government and PoliticsComputer Science AEnglish Language and CompositionEnglish Literature and CompositionEnvironmental ScienceEuropean HistoryFrench Language and CultureGerman Language and CultureHuman GeographyItalian Language and CultureJapanese Language and CultureLatinMacroeconomicsMicroeconomicsMusic TheoryPhysics BPhysics C: Electricity and MagnetismPhysics C: MechanicsPsychologySpanish LanguageSpanish Literature and CultureStatisticsStudio Art: 2-D DesignStudio Art: 3-D DesignStudio Art: DrawingUnited States Government and PoliticsUnited States HistoryWorld History Deciding what to offer?

10. Single-semester blocks, which compress courses formerly taught over an entire year into a single semester • Alternate-day blocks (AB block schedules), which provide double-period classes on alternate days over a school year • Mixed schedules, which allow for some courses on block schedules (single semester or alternate day) and some traditional class periods taught over the school year • Other variations that divide the school year into trimesters or quarters, with some courses taught for one or more quarters or trimesters of the year. Some schools have increased the contact hours for certain courses by teaching double-period classes for one semester and traditional-length classes in the second semester. Scheduling …

11. Master Schedule Consideration Creative Ideas…. Scheduling…

12. AP workshops: These are offered throughout the academic year and range from one to three days in length. Each workshop concentrates on the teaching of a specific AP subject with the focus on instructional strategies and the management of an AP course. • AP Summer Institutes: Hosted by colleges and universities, these intensive, weeklong courses provide in-depth preparation for teaching AP courses. • AP Readings: Experienced AP teachers are encouraged to apply to serve as Readers at the annual AP Reading, where the free-response sections of the AP Exams are scored. • AP Annual Conference: High school teachers, high school administrators, college faculty and others attend workshops, panel discussions, and lectures where they can share ideas with their peers. Identify and Train AP Teachers Finding the right teachers is important!

13. Earn credit or placement for qualifying AP Exam grades • Stand out in the admissions process • Earn academic scholarships and awards from colleges and universities • Experience a college-level exam • Be prepared for college-level course work Recruiting Students  Key to the process is communicating the unique benefits of AP and inspiring students to take AP courses and exams, benefits that include opportunities to:

14. Hold an AP Night • Incentives for taking the course • 9th grade classroom guidance curriculum • 10th Grade Individual Conference • AP Potential from PSAT Scores • Do you speak the language? Ways we recruit…

15. The Coordination of Testing: A Step by Step Guide http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ap/coordinate

16. Begin Early! • March 29: Priority deadline • Submit orders by this date to ensure timely processing and delivery. • April 5: Deadline for ordering preadministration materials –Updated • An order for preadministration materials can be placed only with the initial exam order. Orders placed by March 13 will be delivered by April 5. Orders placed between March 14 and April 3 will be delivered by April 15. • April 19: Extension deadline – Updated • There will be no $50 late fee for orders placed by April 19. This is a final deadline – no orders for regularly scheduled exams will be accepted after this date. Orders placed by April 19 will be delivered by April 29. • May 10 (U.S. territories) and May 17 (United States): Deadline for ordering alternate exams for late testing • Coordinators should call AP Services if an emergency occurs after these dates. Step One:

17. Beginning of February: Classroom visits to explain registration process to students. (See registration forms) Set up fee collection process Late testing policy Early March: Constant reminders Step Two:

18. Order exams: Make sure your data is accurate Google Docs can simplify this process… Order on the AP Exam ordering website Step Three:

19. Once you receive your testing material: Count for accurate amounts Test security Set a Preadministration Date Get organized! Step Four:

20. Organization

21. Preparing for a successful Exam Day: Testing Rooms Distractions Prepared Students website Step Five:

22. Boxing Up Exams: Split Shipments Packaging Slips Invoice and Payment Step Six:

23. Inform students that they must have a College Board account in order to access their AP scores online in July. Direct students to sign up for a free College Board account at apscore.org as early as possible. • Encourage AP teachers to make this announcement in their classrooms and assign the students the homework task of setting up a College Board account. • Be aware that many students will already have an account if they’ve ever registered for the SAT or participated in other College Board programs. Students who already have an account should sign in and confirm that they have the correct username and password. • Remind students to keep their username and password in a safe place. • Notify students with a College Board account that they will receive email updates about how and when they can access their scores. • Encourage students to complete two important fields on their first 2013 AP answer sheet: their student identifier (student ID number) and email address. • Local student identifier or student ID number (Field T): If students have a local identifier and provide it on their AP answer sheet, they can use it to access their scores. If students have more than one student ID (e.g., state level and school level), select which is most appropriate to use for reporting AP Exam scores. • Email address (Field U): Students who provide their email address will receive a notification when their AP scores are available. • Remind students that they must save their AP number. • For security reasons, students will need to provide their AP number (or their student ID number, if they provided it on their answer sheet) in order to view their scores online and send scores to colleges. • To help students remember their AP numbers, a tear-off card is provided in the AP Student Packs. Please encourage students to store this card in a safe place so they can refer to it in July. Step Seven:

24. Building Your AP Program Assessing your strengths and weaknesses to prepare for the future

25. Yes No Do you use AP Score Data?

26. Understand student performance Chart overall progress toward school and district goals Each July, schools receive a number of AP score reports and rosters to help teachers and administrators  analyze student performance and course effectiveness. Schools receive: • An AP score report for each student • A cumulative roster of all students • Rosters of all students by exam Schools also receive the AP Instructional Planning Report. This report helps AP teachers analyze students' performance on AP Exams and identify areas in their AP courses that might need more concentration. Administrators can use the data on all these reports to understand their students' performance on the AP Exams and chart overall progress toward school and district goals. Using AP Score Data Effectively

27. Set clear and achievable goals for student performance. • Keep teachers updated with the latest information on AP. • Have veteran AP teachers mentor prospective AP teachers. • Rotate AP teaching assignments. • Recognize teachers' accomplishments in the school and the outside community. • Encourage teachers to network with other content area teachers and teachers from other schools. Supporting AP Teachers Other strategies to support AP teachers include:

28. Ideas from the group…. Best Practices at your site….