Beyond Traditional Advanced Placement: AP Research, AP Capstone™ and the AP Diplomas October 24, 2019 Today’s 1. Background Agenda 2. AP Research & AP Seminar: The AP Capstone Program 3. Research 4. The Diplomas 5. Recognition 6. Questions 2 Advanced Placement (AP): Some Background Most credential evaluators are familiar with AP as an What is it? academic program, How is it developed? though its global growth can be a How are exams scored? reason to reevaluate How is it validated? current policies 3 An AP ® Primer The Advanced Placement (AP) Program enables students to pursue 38 courses, each culminating in a university-level studies while still in secondary school. rigorous, standardized exam • Each AP course is modeled upon a comparable university course. • AP courses conclude with a university-level assessment developed and scored by university faculty as well as experienced AP teachers. • AP Exams enable students to demonstrate mastery of university-level course work. • Universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP in admissions process. • Most four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada also grant credit or placement on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. • Research consistently shows that students who receive a score of 3 or higher on AP Exams typically experience greater academic success in university and have higher graduation rates than their non-AP peers. 4 Committees of university faculty members and expert AP teachers How AP Courses design AP courses and exams. • A curriculum framework presents the scope and expectations of each and Exams Are course. The framework describes the knowledge and thinking skills students should demonstrate for success on the exam. Developed • AP courses reflect current scholarship and advances in each discipline—and data confirms that AP Exams reflect and assess expectations for university-level work. AP courses and exams are conceived and developed in parallel processes. • AP course development uses the backward planning model of Understanding by Design®, which proposes that curriculum design should begin with clearly defined learning outcomes with evidence needed to confirm that the learning outcomes have been met. • AP Exam development uses Evidence-Centered Design, which incorporates demonstrating evidence of learning outcomes into assessment design. • Both processes begin with the end in mind; together, they articulate what students should understand, know, and be able to do by the end of their AP experience. 5 About AP Scores AP Exams are administered over two weeks in May every year. • An AP score is a weighted combination of a student’s scores on the AP Scores are a standardized measure different sections or parts of the exam. Experienced professors and AP of course mastery teachers apply to be AP exam readers. AP exams are read and scored centrally. The final score is reported on a 5- point scale as follows: • AP Exam Score Validity - Concerned with appropriateness of exam score interpretations and uses 5 = extremely well qualified • - Requires ongoing efforts to accumulate evidence to support sore 4 = well qualified interpretations and uses 3 = qualified • - Three types of evidence used to validate AP courses: 2 = possibly qualified -Content validity 1 = no recommendation -Predictive validity “Qualified” means that students have proven -Consequential validity themselves capable of doing the work of an introductory-level course in a particular subject at university. 6 6 Validity Measures Three Types of Validity Used by AP Content validity • Content of exam should be representative of the content of domain; central elements should receive more emphasis on exam • Content determined by curriculum studies and committees of experts • Exam score represents an accurate estimate of an examinee’s mastery of the domain Consequential Validity • Students exempted from an intro university course perform as well or better in subsequent coursework as students who take the take the course. • Discipline-specific GPAs higher for AP students who place out of the introductory course than non-AP students who take the intro course Predictive Validity • Students who take APs, compared to comparable students who didn’t, tended to graduate at higher rates and with higher GPAs. AP course selection is also very aligned with ultimate university course of study/major 7 8 GPA in sequent course performance Students who took an AP Exam perform well in subsequent courses in the discipline. A 2007 study revealed AP participation is related to positive outcomes for students earning a score of 3 or higher on an AP Exam. In most AP subjects, they performed the same as or better in the Morgan, R., & Klaric, J. (2007). AP students in college: An analysis of five-year academic careers intermediate-level university course (College Board Research Report 2007-4). New York: The College Board. than students who took the university’s introductory course, controlling for prior achievement. 8 AP Research and AP Seminar – AP Capstone as Program and Credential AP Capstone achieves this by: AP Capstone was ▶ Focusing on the skills necessary for successful completion of higher education courses; developed to teach ▶ Honing abilities to synthesize information from multiple academic skills perspectives and apply skills in new situations and cross- needed for higher curricular contexts; education, career, ▶ Practicing collection and analysis of information with and life readiness accuracy and precision; ▶ Cultivating abilities to craft, communicate, and defend identified by leading evidence-based arguments; and educational ▶ Providing opportunities to practice disciplined and organizations and scholarly research skills while exploring relevant topics that College Board appeal to their interests and curiosity membership 10 AP Capstone is a skills-based diploma program that combines AP Seminar and AP Research AP Seminar EVALUATE YEAR 1 academic conversations + 11 AP Capstone is a skills-based program and credential AP Seminar EVALUATE YEAR 1 academic conversations + AP Research CONTRIBUTE TO YEAR 2 academic conversations 12 AP Seminar: evaluate academic conversations Evaluate complex Develop evidence- Communicate questions based arguments professionally Cultural TOPIC? Economic Historical 13 AP Seminar student samples Student samples available at: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-research/exam?course=ap-seminar Artificial Intelligence and the Art Chinese Culture & Chinese Real Estate Community AP Seminar AP Seminar 14 AP Seminar score is based on projects and exams Performance tasks completed throughout year account for 55% of the AP Seminar score Task 1 (20%) Task 2 (35%) AP exam (45%) (Dec – Feb) (Jan – Apr) (May) Written Cultural response Economic Scientific Multimedia presentation 15 AP Research: contribute to academic conversations Review the existing Develop a research Contribute to the body body of knowledge question of knowledge 16 AP Research: sample classroom lesson topics • Understand Discipline-Specific Paradigms • Develop and Revise Research Questions • Contextualize Your Inquiry Journey with the Literature Review • Acknowledge Definitions, Assumptions, Hypotheses • Align the Inquiry Approach, Design, and Method • Choose and Defend an Inquiry Method • Organize and Discuss the Results of Your Method • Engage in Ethical and Safe Research Practices • Establish Your Own Credibility 17 AP Research student samples Student samples available at: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-research/exam?course=ap-research Antimicrobial properties of Chinese Effectiveness of Weight-Loss Smartphone herbs Apps AP Research AP Research 18 AP Research: performance-based assessments There is NO end-of-Course exam in AP Research 4,000-5,000 word Presentation and Oral Defense Academic Research Paper (75%) (25%) (Nov – Apr) (Apr) 19 AP Research students showcase work in various ways Examples Showcase work at competitions Publish their research Present at undergraduate institutions The Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance Through Protein Mutations Adis Kukuljac 2018 20 AP Capstone helped prepare me so much for University. The hands-off teaching methods, research and writing skills, and just taking control of your own learning. Y. Chuang, University of Toronto College Board Research AP Capstone 23 AP Seminar correlation with other AP exams (I) SELECT NON-CAUSAL DATA: NEXT-YEAR PERFORMANCE on AP exams Average 2017 AP score 5 AP Seminar Non-Seminar Seminar 4 3.09 3 2.82 2.95 ~79% 2.63 (3+ in 2016) 2 1 0 English History Science Politics (Lang, Lit) (Art, Eur, US, World) (Bio, Che, Env, Phys) (US Gov, Comp) P value < 0.01 (all differences) Notes: Results presented take into account student first-generation and minority status, gender, high school grades, PSAT scores, number of AP Exams taken in the same subject area prior to AP Seminar, and number of other AP Exams taken prior and concurrent to AP Seminar. 23 24 AP Seminar correlation with other AP exams (II) SELECT NON-CAUSAL DATA: NEXT-YEAR PERFORMANCE on AP exams Average 2017 AP score 5 Non-Seminar Seminar 4 +7% +11% +7% 3.30 +4% 3.28 3.09 3.02 2.82 2.95 3 2.63 2.73 2 1 0 English History Science Politics (Lang, Lit) (Art, Eur, US, World) (Bio, Che, Env, Phys) (US Gov, Comp) P value < 0.01 (all differences) Notes: Results presented take into account student first-generation and minority status, gender, high school grades, PSAT scores, number of AP Exams taken in the same subject area prior to AP Seminar, and number of other AP Exams taken prior and concurrent to AP Seminar. 24 AP Research correlation with other AP exams SELECT NON-CAUSAL DATA: CONCURRENT PERFORMANCE on AP exams Average 2017 AP score 5 Non-Research Research (3+) +13% 4 +7% 3.41 +4% +10% 3.24 3.03 3.03 3 2.77 2.87 2.81 2.56 2 1 0 English* History* Science* Politics* (Lang, Lit) (Art, Eur, (Bio, Che, (US Gov, Comp) * P value < 0.01; No statistical difference observed for Science, Politics US, Env, Notes: Results presented take into account student first-generation and minority status, gender, highWorld) school grades, PSAT scoresPhys), number of AP Exams taken in the same subject area prior to AP Seminar, and number of other AP Exams taken prior and concurrent to AP Seminar.