1 Session #2002-195 AP Classes and Their Impact on Engineering Education Mike Robinson, M. S. Fadali, George Ochs University of Nevada/University of Nevada/Washoe County School District Abstract Many US schools offer students the opportunity to take college level classes in mathematics and science. Studies have shown that students who take these classes are more likely to succeed in college. Other studies have shown that failure in engineering education is strongly correlated to deficiencies in mathematics and science. This paper surveys the history of Advanced Placement (AP) classes and their impact on college education in general and engineering and science education in particular. We also survey AP class offerings in a large Western county school district where a major state university is located. We estimate the number of AP classes offered in mathematics and science, and the percentage of students opting to take these classes. Our results confirm that students who take AP classes are likely to select a major in engineering, science or mathematics. Fifty per cent of students who took AP Physics said they would seek a college major in engineering. Based on the results of the school district surveyed in this study, size, location and socio economic class all affect the number of AP classes offered in high schools. I. Introduction A problem with many high schools is that challenging courses are not offered, especially in mathematics and the sciences. In its final report of 2001, The National Commission on the High School Senior Year urged states to offer challenging alternatives to the traditional high school senior year. The report said that not enough high schools are preparing students for college and careers and that while 70 percent of today’s high school graduates go on to some form of postsecondary education, only one-half of those who enroll at four- year institutions leave with a degree. The main reason cited was that they were not prepared for the rigors of college academics in high school. It proposed that the college- preparatory track be the learning track for all, not just the privilege of a few 1. This proposal is certainly not new. The Committee of Ten 2 as far back as 1893 tried to promote uniform college entrance requirements by aligning high school subjects and content with what would be taught in college. After Sputnik I in 1957, U.S. News and 7.207.1 Page 1 Partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education through grant DUE #1970638. Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ã 2002, American Society for Engineering Education World Report carried an article about “What Went Wrong with American Schools” which advocated that the U.S. emulate the Soviet Union schools in stressing mathematics and science 3. In 1982, Mortimer Adler wrote a book about the need for a standardized, rigorous k-12 curricula that would be the same for all students 4. Many reports came out in the 1980s stressing the need for more rigorous high school academic requirements to prepare our country to compete with our economic rivals. The most famous of these was A Nation at Risk 5. Experience has shown that educational reforms can improve education. In the last 20 years, there have been increases in achievement in mathematics and science attributed to the reforms that went on, mainly between 1982 and 1994. Challenging academic courses increased from 14 to 52 per cent between 1982 and 1994 and the number of students taking AP courses nearly tripled. Also, in general, scores in mathematics and science on the National Association of Education Progress (NAEP), the so-called nations report card, increased from 1978 to 1992. Still, in the 1996 NAEP, only three percent of grade 12 students performed at the advanced level, 18 percent at the proficient level, 36 percent at basic and 43 percent below basic. Males outperformed females in basic, proficient and advanced. Average proficiency of minority groups, black and Hispanic students were also at least four years behind that of their white peers 6. Unfortunately, in the most recent NAEP, 2000, there was no significant change from the 1996 NAEP. In fact, there was a slight decline of three points (four percent) in students’ average score in grade 12 7. Furthermore, in international comparisons, the Third International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) in 1996, U.S. twelfth graders performance was among the lowest of the participating countries in mathematics, science general knowledge, physics and advanced mathematics 8. Many US schools offer students the opportunity to take college level classes in mathematics and science 9. Studies have shown that students who take these classes are more likely to have higher SAT scores and to succeed in college 10. Other studies have shown that failure in engineering education is strongly correlated to deficiencies in mathematics and science 11. This paper gives a brief background of the Advanced Placement (AP) programs in U.S. high schools and surveys one large Western school district for Advanced Placement (AP) class offerings. II. Advanced Placement Programs As early as the 1950s, there was concern among educators in higher education as well as high schools, that our most talented students were not being challenged in existing high school courses. Course content and rigor, graduation requirements and inconsistent college admission requirements were all cited as weaknesses for successful college work. A study titled General Education in School College, sponsored by the Ford Foundation in 1952, recommended the development of achievement exams to enable high school students who passed them to get university credit in single subjects. In 1954, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) developed the exams, called Advanced Placement (AP) and during the 1955-56 school year the AP program became a program of the College Board 12. Page 7.207.2 Page Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ã 2002, American Society for Engineering Education Given the variety of courses in high school; e.g., honors, college preparation, gifted, etc; it is difficult for parents, educators, employers and college admission officers to determine the quality of the courses; e.g., what standard the content meets and what a particular grade in a course means. This is especially true given the grade inflation of many high schools where the average GPA may exceed 3.0 for graduating high school seniors with some students even having GPAs above 4.0. As more and more students try to attend college, GPAs are rising, but at the same time, SAT scores are remaining static or falling. An A average was a worthy achievement of entering college freshman at UCLA in 1969 with only 12.5% of students achieving it. But, in 1999, 34% of entering college freshman at UCLA indicated an A grade point average 13. Some universities are even dropping the SAT and ACT as part of the entrance requirements. In the past these nationally standardized achievement tests served as a bench-mark for the many students who applied. Now, standardized test scores may be of even more value with grade inflation and the difficulty in assessing the content of many “college preparatory” courses. AP courses can offer some of the same predictability for college success that the SAT and ACT have. The big advantages of AP courses are: They are consistent in their standard for content; the same exam is administered externally to all students and the standard is known and can be accepted by parents, teachers and college admissions officers. Moreover, even if the high school AP grade is inflated, the AP examination score can still be used by college admissions officers to judge academic potential. The range on AP exams is from 1-5 with most colleges and universities accepting 3 as the minimum score needed for college credit. The College Board stated “AP provides a true national standard of achievement that is consistent over time.” Furthermore, according to the ETS and the College Board, the average SAT scores of AP graduates are often 164 points higher than the combined national average scores 14. Currently, over 100,000 teachers worldwide, teach AP courses. The Program is strengthened by their participation in professional development workshops and Summer Institutes and in the annual AP Reading where thousands of AP teachers and college faculty gather at college sites across the United States to score the AP exams using rigorous guidelines. The AP program currently offers many courses in many subject areas. Each course is developed by a committee composed of college faculty and AP teachers, and covers the breadth of information, skills, and assignments found in the corresponding college course. High school teachers use the AP Course Descriptions to guide them. The course description for each discipline outlines the course content, describes the curricular goals of the subject, and provides sample examination questions. While the course descriptions are a significant source of information about the course content on which the AP Exams will be based, AP teachers have the flexibility to determine how this content is presented. Published in the spring of the school year before the course will be taught, the course descriptions are available in the AP Central™, accompanied by a course overview written by an experienced AP teacher. The following facts are taken from the College Board Annual Report 15. AP Program Facts · The AP Program offers 35 courses in 19 subject areas. 7.207.3 Page Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ã 2002, American Society for Engineering Education · Nearly 60 percent of U.S.