Notes from the Roundtable Discussion on APs at Blair

PDC Thursday Roundtables—February 21, 2013:

Topic:  Advanced Placement Curriculum:  Pros and Cons

Attendees:  Lew Stival, Blair Buck, Bob Brandwood, Kaye Evans, Craig Evans, Mike Eckert, Jason Beck

Reading:  Independent Curriculum Group work on APs at Independent Schools

Thoughts:  While the general consensus was that the AP program does provide some good opportunities for Blair students, it may also close the door on more interesting and worthwhile academic options.  There was considerable energy behind a thorough review of the AP program at Blair and how our peer schools have dealt with the opportunities and challenges that it presents. 

Particular questions and issues that were raised:

• The English APs are good tests…  yet the question still remains that courses could be developed without tracking in the junior and senior year that would still allow for some students to self-select to prep for the AP itself.  Tracking hurts the quality of the regular courses, while integrated courses still allow the best students to distinguish themselves. 
•  Do the AP scores matter to Blair?  Lew Stival noted that the scores are meaningless from a college admission perspective, and that more and more of the best schools are doing away with giving credit for AP scores (see Dartmouth in 2012). 
• It was noted that the NY Times article about the APs at Scarsdale high school claimed that the APs were “good predictors of performance”.
• College Counseling did note that they AP designation is a “roadsign to rigor” for colleges – especially those that may not read applications closely. 
• If we were to radically alter the AP program at Blair, how would we communicate rigor to colleges (and parents and kids)?  Better course descriptions and better teacher recommendations would be required. 
• Blair Buck noted that the Bio AP curriculum and test were new this year.  The course is designed to be more quantitative, and has less breadth and more depth along with more lab work and more critical thinking requirements.  The question remains, however, how much prior knowledge will be expected on the exam itself and how that fits into our course schedule at Blair.  Other science tests will be revised in coming years…
• Is it valid to teach to the test, especially if the teacher doesn’t have a role in crafting the assessment?
• Does knowing that the test results don’t matter change the approach of the teacher?  The student?
• Would dropping APs at Blair be a marketing challenge or opportunity for Blair?  Given that some of the best independent schools are moving away from the AP designated courses, with an advanced studies program as an alternative, could be a way of distinguishing our academic program.
• If there is no AP designation on our transcript, would colleges focus even more on SAT and/or ACT results?
• Would current parents have concerns with such a radical curriculum change at Blair?  Especially given that the public perception relies on the “AP for All” marketing efforts of the College Board as much of its basis.
• If we teach kids how to think critically and how to write, won’t they be able to prep for the AP exams relatively easily beyond the actual coursework? 
• Could we have a blend?  AP US History and then no Senior AP options in the history department, for example?  This would seem to pull the lower kids up and may help distribute grades more effectively. 
• We need to remember that our kids are innately advantaged already when it comes to reading, writing, and thinking. 
• Could we design a pilot program to test the effectiveness of non-AP courses and self-selected AP testers? 
• Obviously, any change would require at least a year-long process of research, intentional curriculum design, marketing, and implementation.

Action items:

1. Create a Task Force to review the research on the AP program, look at how other schools dealt with these questions, and consider effective Blair options.
2. Encourage departments to regularly review their AP offerings and the effectiveness of those courses in meeting the departments’ educational standards and goals. 

Looking Ahead:            We will plan on two more Roundtable Discussions in early April on the following topics:  Gender and Education at Blair and Moving Toward a Humanities Curriculum.

                                    In addition, we hope to return to the Action Items of all six Roundtable Discussions in late April to reflect on what we would like to move forward with.  Stay tuned for more information on this process in the weeks ahead.